Choices
by TiffanyNichelle
Summary: A Gia story where she finds out the truth about Lucien Cane and suffers the consequences. Complete!
1. What's The Worst That Could Happen

**Choices**

**Part One: _What's The Worst That Could Happen_**

Gia stretched out her legs and her arms high above her head and yawned widely as she greeted the new day. She wiggled her toes and her fingers and smiled. She hadn't woken up feeling this great since, since…she quickly cut off that thought. Nikolas thoughts were off limits for now on. 

She sighed and turned her thoughts back to the man who made her feel this way. The man who whisked her away to Milan for the weekend and tucked her away in his villa overlooking Lake Como. The man who made her forget about Nikolas for one night and really think about the possibilities of a future with him. 

A lazy smile appeared on her lips as she remembered the night before. They arrived in Milan early in the evening and he took her shopping, buying her extravagant gifts that she, at first, tried to turn down but soon realized it was easier to just accept them. He'd wined and dined her, said all the right things, had everything planned perfectly. She'd never felt so treasured in her life. To think that a man like that would be interested in her, some girl from Brooklyn…it was just mind blowing. 

Last night she took that final step and officially pushed Nikolas out of her life. When he kissed her last night she didn't push him away. Their lovemaking had been magnificent. 

Gia frowned as she realized that he wasn't in the bed with her. She noticed that his side of the bed was cold. Maybe he was out on the balcony, she thought. She threw off the covers and called out, "Lucien?" 

She picked up the filmy red silk robe that matched the red negligee that he brought her last night and slipped it on. She tied the belt and padded over to the balcony. She opened the doors and said with a smile on her face, "Lucien?" 

There was a small table set up on the balcony. Breakfast was laid out for her and Lucien. She murmured. "So this is what you were up to." 

She slid into her chair and poured herself a cup of coffee and waited for Lucien to return to her. She figured that he was out somewhere buying her yet another gift. The coffee was hot so it must have been delivered right before she woke up. 

Looking at the view from the balcony she decided that she could get use to all this. And this time she wouldn't let a silly thing like her heart get in the way. She learned her lesson from Nikolas. Love only hurts you. She was above that now. All she wanted was a good time and Lucien Cane was just the man to give her that. That and a beautiful diamond necklace. She touched the necklace he'd given her last night with one finger. He was such a generous man, she smiled. Her mother was going to have a fit of course but this was Gia's life, not her mother's, right? 

She hummed softly to herself as she sipped her coffee. She wished he would come back soon. She was starving and the smell of the food was distracting. She hated starting without him but he wouldn't mind if she had one little bite. 

She'd just removed the covers and started to dig in when she heard a knocking at the bedroom door. Wondering whom it could be, she got up and went in to open the door. 

Waiting for her was a servant holding a bouquet of roses. He extended them to Gia. He murmured, "For you." 

"Oh, thank you." She accepted them with a smile. These must be from Lucien. "Have you seen Mr. Cane?" 

"He left this for you." The servant handed her an envelope. Remembering what happened at the auction Gia's heart sank as she took the envelope. 

"Oh, don't tell me had to leave." Gia murmured. Not after last night! She turned her back on the man and tore into the envelope. He better have a damn good reason for leaving her like this. 

_"My darling Gia,_

_I'm sorry that I could not be there with you when you woke up but I had to return to the States. Last night was memorable and I'm sure neither of us will forget it for as long as we live. Unfortunately that was the end of our relationship. I'm sure you will understand. I just had to find out what drove my son to stay with you and I must say he has excellent taste in women. He gets it from me."_

Gia dropped to the bed, the roses fell to the floor. My son? What was he talking about? What was going on? She read on, 

_"I think I've gotten ahead of myself, haven't I? My apologies. The truth is, I'm not Lucien Cane. My name is Stavros Cassadine. Nikolas's father. Yes, it is true. The perversions of modern science and my devoted mother brought me back to life. Ah, motherly love, there is nothing like it._

_But I digress. I am honestly sorry that this must come to an end. You were truly a delicious morsel. Uncouth and delightfully rough around the edges, I would have enjoyed smoothing those edges. In another time and another place you would have made an excellent mistress, so well do you know your place in life. My son was a fool to let you go in order to spy on his grandmother. His return to the family was all a deliberate act. But the videotape of our night together will show him the folly of his ways._

_Oh, you didn't notice the cameras, my dear? Just as well. Like your photographs, you positively glow in our little movie. I thank you for the delightful time. You've served your purpose. The gifts are yours to keep. Consider it payment for services rendered._

_'Till we meet again,_   
_Stavros"_

Gia threw the letter on the ground and shook her head over and over. No! No, no, no. He was lying. It was a joke. A really bad, distasteful joke. There was no way that all this time she'd been with Nikolas's dead father. Or that she _slept_ with Nikolas's dead father. Wait, not dead father but his back from the dead father. No, not even the Cassadines were that twisted. Right? Right? They couldn't just bring people back from the dead. And if it was true then everything had been just a game. What she thought she had with Lucien was just a sick, twisted game. How he must have laughed at her behind her back. And when he pushed her to sue the Cassadines… 

Gia's stomach turned and she barely made it into the bathroom in time. 

**~*~*~**

Gia groaned and weakly pushed down the handle on the toilet. She closed her eyes as she listened to the water rush in. She was now familiar with that sound and on intimate terms with her toilet in her room at the Port Charles Hotel. She even could describe it with her eyes closed. Someone banged on the door, dragging her out of her thoughts. 

Lucky called, "Gia, hey, are you all right?" 

She wiped her mouth and said. "I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute." 

Crap. She was used to this happening at home but this was the first time she'd ever been sick at a photo shoot. Now there were going to be all sorts of questions that she couldn't answer. She quickly rinsed her mouth out with the travel-sized mouthwash she started carrying with her. She emerged from the bathroom of the roller rink Deception rented out for the photo shoot. Lucky stood waiting for her with a worried look on his face. 

She smiled broadly at Lucky. "Hi." 

"Are you okay? Did you catch a bug or something?" 

"Or something." Gia murmured. It was something all right. 

Lucky looked at her sharply. He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "Listen, Gia, don't do this to yourself. You're beautiful as you are. You don't have to starve yourself and-" 

Gia's eyes widened as she figured out what he was talking about. "Lucky, no! I'm not…I'm not! Seriously." 

"Oh." Lucky dropped his hands and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." 

"I'm just a little sick that's all." Gia said. "It'll all pass soon." 

Lucky shoved his hands into his pockets. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that." 

Gia cocked her head to the side, "Thanks anyway. It was uh, it was kinda sweet." 

Her make-up artist, Sara, came over, clucking her tongue disapprovingly. "You've smudged your make-up." 

As the make-up artist whipped out lipstick and started fixing Gia's face, Lucky murmured. "Nikolas was here a few minutes ago." 

"Oh." Gia said. 

"Don't move." Sara hissed. 

"But I sent him away." Lucky told her. 

Gia waited until Sara was done before saying, "Thank you." 

"Isn't it about time you talk to him? It's been months. This is killing him. He wants go get things back to normal." Lucky said. 

"Normal." Gia laughed bitterly. Nothing would ever be normal again, she thought as she recalled the past few months. 

After cleaning herself up and burning the letter, Gia immediately bought a plane ticket back to Port Charles. She left behind everything that Lucien had given her. Once back in town she discovered to her horror that Lucien's letter had been true. Lucien, Stavros, had played her for a fool. 

She turned on the news that night and found out that just that afternoon, Chloe Morgan and Stavros Cassadine were found dead in Stefan Cassadine's study. Stefan had been charged with both their murders until it was discovered later that Stavros was responsible for Chloe's death. The story was that Stefan had walked in Stavros just as he sliced Chloe's throat. Stefan stabbed Stavros with the same knife in retaliation then held Chloe as she died. Alexis Davis and Jasper Jacks found them together. That and the fact that Stavros Cassadine had been alive at all filled the newspaper headlines for weeks. 

During that time everything was thrown into chaos. Helena lost her mind and was shipped off to a remote island by Stefan once he was cleared of all charges. Nikolas gained control of the Ice Princess and used it to free Lucky of all of Helena's brainwashing. Everything was supposed to go back to the way it was. Nikolas was reunited with Stefan and Alexis and Lucky was free. 

But the strain of all the lies caused Lucky to rethink his relationship with Elizabeth. They decided to 'cool things down' while Elizabeth went off to visit her parents. But everyone knew that the couple was over. 

And when Nikolas tried to approach Gia and reconcile with her, she shut him down completely. She was through with the Cassadines. All they've done was ruin her life. Nikolas lied to her so he could save Lucky's life. He didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth. He'd rather trust Elizabeth than her. She was obviously not good enough. Good enough to sleep with and profess to love, yes, but not good enough to trust. And Lucien, Stavros…she couldn't even think of him as Stavros. He'd messed with her head too. He tricked her into sleeping with him. She slept with her ex-boyfriend's father! She was disgusted with herself and Cassadines in general. 

Thankfully Nikolas never knew the truth about her and Lucien. The videotape of her and Lucien had never made it into his hands. Stefan Cassadine of all people ended up with it somehow and thankfully gave it to her. Knowing that Stefan had obviously seen the tape and saw her with Lucien made her feel dirty. She destroyed it and vowed never to have anything to do with any Cassadines ever again. 

"Gia?" Lucky waved his hand in front of her face. "You still there?" 

Gia shook her head. "Sorry, my mind wandered for a moment." 

"As I was saying, I think you should give Nikolas another chance. He did a really, really crappy thing and it was wrong. He was trying to protect us all but went about it all wrong." 

Gia raised her eyebrow. "Are you done being Nikolas's cheerleader? Cause it really doesn't suit you, Lucky. Nikolas and I will get together right after you and Elizabeth do, all right? And that's all I have to say about that. Now," she placed a brilliant smile on her face, "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. Spencer." 

Lucky shook his head and picked up his camera. He led Gia over to the center of the rink where a row of shirtless body builders in roller skates waited. He nodded at them, "All right, be careful with her, guys. She's precious material." 

Gia grinned at him as the guys picked her up and lay her across their arms. Lucky fussed with the lighting then came over to her. He stroked her chin and narrowed his eyes. "After the shoot, I want you to go to GH. Get a check up. You shouldn't be this sick." 

Gia nodded. "Okay, Lucky. God, when did you get all mother hennish?" 

"I have to keep the star in tip-top shape you know." Lucky flashed her a quick smile. 

She didn't have to heart to tell him that she'd already gone to Mercy Hospital and had a check up. This morning she'd gotten her results. It was as she suspected. She was pregnant with Stavros Cassadine's child. 


	2. Hard Decisions

**Part Two: _Hard Decisions_**

Gia stopped short just before she ran into Stefan and Nikolas exiting The Port Charles Grille. She closed her eyes and mentally cursed her bad luck. She'd managed to avoid Nikolas for two weeks straight so it would only make sense for her to almost run right into him and Stefan of all people. God, every time she saw Stefan she felt like he was seeing that tape of her in his mind. 

"Miss Campbell." Stefan said politely. 

She pointedly avoided making eye contact with Stefan. She murmured. "Sorry, excuse me." 

Nikolas grabbed her arm as she tried to brush past them. "Gia, wait. Are you about to have dinner? Mind if I join you? It's time you stop avoiding me. We need to sit down and talk. We deserved another chance." 

Feeling as if Stefan's eyes were boring into her, Gia kept her eyes on Nikolas only as she pulled her arm free. "I'm sorry but I can't. I'm late meeting someone." 

"Oh? Business? I can wait until you're done." Nikolas suggested. He was slightly amazed that she was even bothering to fill him in. Usually she was either ignoring him or having Lucky tell him to leave. Nikolas frowned. She and Lucky were together a lot lately, he'd noticed. Nikolas pushed that thought of his head and slid his hands into his pockets to control his urge to touch her again. 

Gia glanced into the restaurant where she knew Lucky was waiting for her. She tossed her head and said, "No, it's pleasure. Pure pleasure." 

She smiled coyly. "Lucky and I…well, it's probably not a good idea for me to discuss this with you. You know, you two being brothers and all. But Lucky did say…never mind, forget it." 

"Lucky?" Nikolas repeated. "What, what do you mean Lucky?" 

Gia shrugged. "Is it that shocking that Lucky and I could grow closer? We're both single, we spend a lot of time together because of work, we discovered we have a lot in common, including people we thought we loved lying to us for our _'own good'_. Really, it's not that surprising. Now if you excuse me, I'm already late as it is. I really hate to keep Lucky waiting." 

Leaving Nikolas speechless, Gia strode into the restaurant and walked straight to the table where Lucky waited. Knowing that Nikolas was watching, she leant down and kissed Lucky on the cheek. Her hair swung forward shielding them from Nikolas's eyes and making the kiss look like more than it was. 

"Go with it." She whispered into Lucky's ear. "Please, I'll explain later." 

"Ok." He murmured. 

When Gia finally straightened up, Lucky stood up and pulled out her chair for her. Once she was settled into it, he pushed aside her hair and kissed her neck softly. He trailed his fingers across her bare shoulder and down her arm. She smiled up at him and watched him as he came back around the table and took his seat. He sat back in it lazily, staring at her as if she was only person in the room. She felt a shiver go down her spine from the intensity of his look. He nodded with a slight smile. 

Gia held his gaze and murmured, "You're facing the door. Is Nikolas and Stefan still there?" 

Lucky barely glanced over Gia's shoulder before returning his attention back to her. "He was there, looking very pissed. Stefan just pulled him away. So this was a big show for Nikolas then?" 

"Yes." Gia sighed. "I had no idea he was going to be here with his uncle and then I almost walked right into them." 

"That's because you've been walking around in a fog for the past week or so. You want to explain what's up?" Lucky placed his elbows on the table and leaned in. 

Gia took her time. She'd been trying for the past week to figure out the best way to ask Lucky for help with the pregnancy. He was the only person she felt she could turn to. Her mother would be horrified and her brother would be so disappointed, she knew she couldn't go to either one. 

"Lucky, I'm in trouble and I need your help." She finally said. 

"Fine." 

"Just like that?" She frowned. "You don't even know what I did or what I need help with." 

Lucky shrugged. "When it comes to friends in trouble, I don't really need all the details. You're my friend and I'll help." 

Remembering how he foolishly packed away a dead cop in a freezer for Emily, Gia knew that he was someone she could count on. She laid her hands on the table and leaned in. She glanced around before whispering, "I'm pregnant." 

Lucky waited a beat. "Let's go upstairs to your room." 

~*~*~ 

Gia threw her purse on the bed as they entered her suite. She dropped down on it while Lucky took a seat on the couch. He folded his hands together and said, "Okay, start at the beginning. Is it Nikolas's?" 

Gia shook her head silently. Lucky took a deep breath. "Okay, you're really going to have to start at the beginning then." 

Gia filled him in about her and Lucien Cane. She started from the first day they met and went all the way up to her receiving his letter. She didn't make any mention of the video. In her opinion, the less people who knew about it, the better. She finished with her visit to Mercy Hospital, "And that's why I'm been so sick lately." 

Lucky stood up and started to pace the room. "So you're pregnant with…does Nikolas know about this?" 

"God, no. He doesn't even know that Stavros and I even knew each other." Gia said. "You didn't tell him, did you?" 

Lucky shook his head. "No, I figured that was something you would tell him yourself." 

"Can you help me?" She pleaded. 

Lucky stopped pacing and took a seat next to her. He took her hand in his. "What do you need me to do?" 

"All those stories you told me about you and your parents on the run, were true right? You know how to hide and pretty much stay hidden from the people looking for you." 

"Yes." Lucky said slowly. "You want to go on the run? Why?" 

"I just need some place that no one can find me so I can think about what to do about this baby." Gia said. "I'm going to go ahead with the pregnancy, I just don't know if I'm going to keep the baby or give it up for adoption." 

"You can do that here." Lucky reasoned. 

"I can't. Not with my mother and Marcus here. They'll try to push me into making a decision that's right for them and not for me. And what if the Cassadines decide they want this baby. I'm not about to let them get a hold an innocent child." Gia swore. 

"How would any of them know that it's Stavros's baby?" Lucky frowned. "The only people who know about this is you and me, right? And well Stavros, but he doesn't count." 

"Well," Gia bit her lip. God, she was hoping she wouldn't have to tell him this. "Stefan might be able to guess if he found out I was pregnant." 

Lucky narrowed his eyes. "How would Stefan be able to figure it out?" 

"Stavros made a tape of me and him that night and it somehow got to Stefan who gave it to me." Gia winced. 

"Oh great." Lucky groaned. "Ok, we have to get you out of town for a few months so you can get your head together." 

"Yes. I have enough put away to take some time off. Thank God, I didn't foolishly spend all my modeling money on Chloe Morgan dresses." She muttered under her breath. She hit her forehead. "Oh my God, I forgot about Deception. What am I going to tell your mother? I can't disappear on her for months but who wants a pregnant model?" 

Lucky rubbed her back. "Don't worry about it. Let me think about it. I can explain it all to my mother, she'll understand." 

"But the campaigns—" 

"We're still in the middle of the old one, the new pictures I took of you and the commercials you just filmed don't start for another month and that'll run for a awhile. I'll think of something." 

Gia nodded, thankful to put all her worries on someone else's shoulders for just a little while. She sighed, "Where can I go?" 

Lucky was silent as he mentally scanned all the places that he and his family stayed during their years on the run. He needed someplace he could get her quickly and easy without too much fuss. He snapped his fingers as it came to him. He stood up. "Start packing and getting your things in order. We'll leave in a few days." 

Gia stood also. "Just like that?" 

"I have a few things I have to make sure of but yeah, I know where you can go." 

"But, but…" This was suddenly moving way too fast for her. A few days? She thought she had maybe a week or two before things would be ready. 

Lucky took her by the shoulders and said, "You want to be out of town before you start to show and people start getting suspicious. And before Stefan starts counting back. Don't worry about the plans. I'll take care of everything. I'm pretty good at this sort of thing." 

"Dashing out of town in the middle of the night is your specialty?" 

Lucky smiled crookedly. "Pretty much, yeah. You need to think about what you'll tell your family." 

"I already have that planned out." Gia assured him. "I'll them I'm going on a long vacation and then I'll come up with something later when that excuse runs out." 

Lucky raised his eyebrow and smirked. "You used to be able to come up with better stories than that. I guess I'm going to have to help you with that also." 

"Now don't get too used to the white knight role, okay? This is only temporary." Gia smirked back. "I don't need any man taking care of me." 

"Naw, you just need me." Lucky grinned. "I want you to get some sleep. You're not getting enough." 

"And how can you tell?" 

"You've got bags under your eyes." 

"What?" Gia gasped. She started to run for the mirror but Lucky caught her. 

"I was kidding." He told her. "Seriously though, I want you to get more rest. You need to take care of yourself. That's my half brother's half sibling in there." 

"Oh god," Gia groaned, "my life is turning into a really twisted episode of Jerry Springer." 

"Port Charles does that to people. I know from experience." Lucky said with a wry grin. 

"Thanks by the way." 

Lucky shook his head. "It's not necessary." 

"Of course it is. I'm about to have you lie to people for me and I'm laying all my problems on you and—" 

"Gia, it's not a problem. I do just about anything for my friends and if you haven't noticed, I count you as one of them." 

"Still, I'm pretty lucky to have you." Gia hugged him and kissed on the cheek. "Thank you anyway." 

~*~*~ 

"Is Lucky seeing Gia?" was the first thing out of Nikolas's mouth after he stormed into Laura's office where she was still working late. Laura dropped the reports she'd been staring at to stare at her eldest son. 

"Excuse me?" Laura laughed. "I don't think so. Lucky is still in love with Elizabeth. I know they're not really together right now but he still loves her very much. And he knows how you feel about Gia. He wouldn't do anything like that to either of you." 

"Well, when I saw the two of them together just now at the Grille, it looked like he could barely remember who Elizabeth was much less remember that he loved her." Nikolas gritted out. 

"What?" Laura had a feeling Nikolas really believed this. 

"Have they been spending a lot of time together?" Nikolas asked. 

"Well, yes but—" 

"No, not at photo shoots but outside of them." 

"Of course. Nikolas, they _are_ friends, you know. I think you're just being paranoid." Laura said soothingly. "Things aren't going well between you and Gia and you're just looking for any excuse…" 

"No, at the Grille, they kissed and then the way he was looking at her…" Nikolas grunted. "I can't believe this! Maybe that time I walked in on them at the cottage wasn't all that innocent. Maybe I wasn't…" 

Laura walked over to him and laid her hand on his shoulder. "Sweetie, listen to yourself. You're not making any sense. Gia still loves you but she's still hurt and angry over what happened. Whatever you saw at the Grille was probably just a show to get you to back off." 

Nikolas was past listening. He prowled around Laura's office. He knew what he saw. It had to be true. It would explain why she wouldn't talk to him. Why she always had Lucky be the one to send him away. It made so much sense. 

"I can't believe he would do this to me. He knows I'm crazy about her and he still goes behind my back. This is all just to get back at me for what Elizabeth and I did. He's using her to hurt me." Nikolas gestured wildly. 

Laura shook her head. "Nikolas, you know Lucky isn't like that at all." 

Nikolas stared at her over his shoulder. "Why are you so willing to believe that your precious Lucky wouldn't have a vindictive bone in his body?" 

Laura held up her hands. Enough was enough. "You're starting to get out of control, Nikolas. I suggest you think before you speak again." 

Nikolas pointed at her. "I suggest you tell Lucky not to stand in my way." Nikolas stormed out of the office leaving Laura speechless. She recovered quickly enough to go over to the phone and call Lucky to find out what exactly was going on. 

~*~*~ 

Three days later Gia sat on the docks saying goodbye to Port Charles. Lucky had called a few hours ago to tell her that everything was a go and that she was leaving on a five am flight. When he told her that he couldn't come with her on the trip because he had to stay to tie up some loose ends concerning the new campaign pictures, she'd been disappointed. But then she reasoned that she was going to have live out in the middle of wherever Lucky was sending her for months by herself. She was going to have to get used to depending on herself and not Lucky. 

Once she knew about the plans, she quickly made a few stops by her mother and her brother places to let them know about the spur of the moment trip she was taking. Both understood that she needed time away from Port Charles to get herself together. That she wasn't fully recovered from her break up with Nikolas and that she needed time away from him. She hated lying to them but it was the only way. 

Now she sat on the docks saying goodbye to her newly adopted hometown. She remembered when she used to think people were crazy for spending so much time on the docks but now it was part of her regular routine. She shook her head. She was being silly. It wasn't like she was leaving forever, just for a few months. She would be back. Things would be completely different when she returned but she would still be back. 

Nikolas paused at the top of the stairs, taking the time to just look at her unobserved. She sat with her arms folded, just staring off into space. It was the first time he'd seen her since their encounter at the Grille. Both she and Lucky seemed to disappear so he couldn't ask either one what was going on with them. He did make sure he called Laura to apologize for his behavior. Luckily for him, she was very understanding. 

When Nikolas finally started down the stairs his goal was to find out what was going on between her and Lucky but as he got closer and closer to her all he wanted to do was hold her. Maybe he was being crazy. Maybe that whole thing at the Grille was just a show. He was willing to be wrong. 

He called out softly, "Gia." 

Gia looked at him. "Nikolas." 

He slowly approached her. "Don't run away from me this time, please." 

Gia stood up. She hadn't planned on running. This was going to be last time she saw him for months. She had no idea how he would feel about her when the truth came out, if she decided to raise the baby. 

"Hi Nikolas." 

He paused and stared at her. "Okay, that was unusual. Usually it's 'I have to go, Nikolas. Leave me alone, Nikolas. You're getting all stalker-like, Nikolas.' What's going on?" 

Gia looked down on the ground and shrugged. "I just…" 

"Shh, I don't care." Nikolas came over to her and cupped her face in his hands. He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "All that matters is that you're talking to me and you're not running off." 

At his touch, Gia felt herself weakening. She desperately wanted to tell him the whole story about Stavros and the baby and everything. But she was also scared of what he would think of her and all the bad choices she'd made. 

She placed her hands over his. "I should go." 

"No." He said strongly. "I'm not letting you leave, Gia. Not until you listen to me." 

"I've listened to you, Nikolas, and you say the same things over and over. How you're sorry and how you were only doing it for Lucky." Gia shook her head and tried to pull away. "I've heard it all before." 

"I was an idiot. I thought I could take care of everyone and make sure that no one got hurt. I was stupid, I admit it. But when you were hurting, so was I. I missed you so much, I almost went out of my mind. I left the cottage because everything there reminded me of you. The sheets, the pillows, they all had your smell. I couldn't get you out of my mind. Half the nights I woke up reaching for you only to remember that you weren't there. And then when you keep throwing some new guy you were dating in my face, it only drove me more crazy." 

Gia wanted to cry as he reminded her of the way she used to talk about Lucien. Oh God, she'd had been the real idiot. 

Nikolas continued, "But then Helena's plan was revealed and Lucky was safe and I thought that things would go back to the way they were. Gia, when I knew that things were safe for us, the first thing I did was go out and buy a ring." 

Gia gasped. "Nikolas, no…" 

"I was going to ask you to marry me. I wanted, no, I still want us, to be together forever. I'm not going to let you go. Do you understand me? You can keep on pushing me away and whatever you're doing with Lucky; it's not going to stop me. You still love me and we're supposed to be together." 

Nikolas pulled her closer to him and kissed her softly on the lips. Her mouth opened slightly and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Gia cried as she kissed him back with all her heart. Nikolas tasted her tears on his lips. 

He pulled back slightly and asked softly, "Gia?" 

"I can't." She cried. She pushed away from him and ran up the stairs. Nikolas ran after her. 

"Gia, wait!" He called out. 

Gia ran all the way to Kelly's before running into Lucky. "Gia, are you okay? What happened?" 

"Nikolas…he…" She could barely get the words out. Lucky took her into his arms and held her close. He rubbed his hands across her back. 

"Shh, calm down, you're too upset." 

Nikolas arrived a moment later. He narrowed his eyes when he saw how Gia clung to Lucky. "What is going on here?" 

Lucky glared at him over Gia's head. "What did you do to her?" 

"I didn't do anything. We're just talking and then…Look, Lucky this has nothing to do with you so why don't you just back off." 

"I think I better take Gia somewhere for her to calm down." Lucky said. 

Nikolas ignored Lucky and reached out to Gia, "Gia, please, talk to me. Gia…" 

Gia sniffled and stepped away from Lucky. She wiped away her tears. "I'm gonna go with Lucky. I'll talk to you later." 

"Gia…" 

"I said I'll talk to you later, all right. I just need to…I just need some time." 

Nikolas wasn't happy but at least she agreed to talk to him later. He sighed. "All right. I'll call you tomorrow then?" 

Gia nodded. "Try me in the afternoon. I'm going to be busy all morning." 

He nodded. He glanced in Lucky's direction. Lucky nodded and said. "I'll take care of her." 

Nikolas looked once more at Gia before leaving them. Lucky took Gia's hand. "Do you want me to walk you back to the hotel or do you want to come up to my room to get cleaned up." 

"Your place, please." 

~*~*~ 

Gia returned from the bathroom and sat down next to Lucky on his bed. They sat in silence before Lucky finally asked. "What happened?" 

"I ran into him on the docks and we started to talk." Gia hesitated. "He told me he brought me a ring." 

"Wow. I didn't know about that." 

"Yeah, he was going to propose months ago. But now even if I wanted to I can't marry him. Not after all this." 

"Gia, maybe…" 

She stopped him before he could start. "Lucky, nothing is going to make this have a happy ending so don't even bother with the Pollyanna bit." 

Lucky changed the subject. "You should get back to the hotel and get some sleep. Don't forget, your flight's at five." 

"And just where am I flying to again?" Gia quizzed him. 

"Texas. You'll love it out there." 

"Whatever you say." Gia picked at his comforter. "Do you mind if I just sleep here then go back to the hotel to pick up my stuff? It'll take too long to go over there now and I have a feeling that Nikolas is probably waiting for me." 

Lucky shrugged. "No problem. You need your rest." 

Gia kicked off her shoes and stretched out on the bed. Lucky grabbed a pillow and the extra blanket and carried them over to the chair where he was going to make his bed. She called out to him. "Hey, give me your hand." 

Lucky walked over and allowed her to take his hand. She placed it over her stomach. She moved it down and said, "You feel that? You feel that hard lump right there?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Say hello to the newest Campbell." 

Lucky smiled. "Hey there." 

~*~*~ 

"Well little one, here we are." Gia announced as she walked into the old house in Texas that the Spencers used to live in. The cab driver, who was bringing in her bags, gave her an odd look. She dug into her purse and paid the fare and then a little extra for dragging in all her bags. 

She waited until he was gone before smoothing her hand across her stomach. She chatted with the baby as she walked further into the house, inspecting it. "I'm going to have to watch that, I guess. I'm also going to have to get used to only having you to talk to. Looks like Lucky has us stranded in West Bumblefuck." 

"Hey, now, I actually had a good time out here." Lucky retorted from the doorway. 

Gia whirled around with a big smile on her face. "Lucky!" 

He dropped his bags and took off his shades. He smiled broadly at her. "Yeah, it's me." 

"What are you doing here?" She asked even as she crossed the room to hug him tightly. 

"I'm here to keep you company." He said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You didn't think I was about to leave you out here for months by yourself, did you? I know how you city girls are." 


	3. Happy Holidays

**Part Three: _Happy Holidays_**

Her arms still wrapped around him, Gia said to Lucky in amazement, "Say that again. How are you even here? I thought I was supposed to be here by myself." 

"I always planned on joining you out here. I needed to take care of some things in Port Charles first." Lucky suddenly frowned as he looked around. "Are you just getting here? You should have been here yesterday." 

"The plane was delayed. By the time we actually got here it was so late I decided to stay in town for the night." Gia stepped back, propped her hand on her hip, and looked at Lucky. "If you were going to come with me why did you even send me out here by myself?" 

"Like I said, I had some things to take care of. I figured it was better that I get you out of town first." Lucky clipped his sunglasses on his shirt collar. He picked up two of Gia's suitcases. "We should get you settled into a room. You probably want a nap. Mom took lots of naps when she was pregnant with Lulu." 

He walked out of the living room, leaving Gia to either follow him or stay behind. She hurried after him. Lucky strode down the hallway past several doors before coming to the last one. 

"What were you taking care of in Port Charles?" Gia asked out of curiosity. 

"I think this would be a good room for you." Lucky said instead, opening the door and showing her the big room. Two huge windows poured sunlight in. There wasn't much furniture but there was a king-sized bed that faced the windows. Gia barely glanced at it. 

"Why aren't you answering my question?" Gia asked worriedly. 

"You don't like the room?" Lucky asked. 

"It's nice." Gia said distractedly. "Did something happen in Port Charles that you don't want to talk about?" 

"Nothing happened." Lucky said. He walked into the room and laid her suitcases by the bureau. "I set up a workable situation for the next campaign with my mother and I told her that you needed some time away. She's not asking questions. She knows I'm with you and she won't tell anyone." 

"Thank God." Gia muttered. "So whose room was this?" 

"My parents." Lucky said. "You should have it." 

"No, it's your family's house. You should have it." Gia said. 

Lucky shook his head. "I'll bunk down in my old room." 

"I _want_ you to take this room." Gia insisted. 

They looked at each other and started to laugh. Lucky smiled. "We're being silly." 

"Fighting over who gets the big room and neither of us want it." Gia agreed. 

"And that's why I want you to have it. It _is_ the big room. It gets the most sun. There's plenty of room for a crib…" Lucky trailed off. 

Gia toyed with a braid and stared at the floor. Lucky tilted his head to the side. "Have you thought it yet?" 

"I still don't know what I'm going to do." Gia sighed. "I'm trying not to get too attached but just now? I was actually talking to it. I can't get attached if I'm going to give the baby up. It would be so hard to do then." 

"Then don't." Lucky said, coming across the room to her. He crouched down in front of her. He took her hands in his. "Don't give the baby away." 

"And who said I was ready to be a mother?" Gia said harshly. "All the responsibility? If you haven't noticed Lucky, I can be pretty selfish. Who knows if I can actually put a child a first." 

Lucky stroked her arm. He said softly. "Hey. You're not making sense. You don't have to have this baby and give it up in secret. If Stefan tries to come after this baby I'll help you fight him." 

"I think I should take that nap." Gia looked away. She was hoping to not have this conversation so soon. She wanted to wait a while before making her final decision about the baby. 

"Gia…" Lucky said. 

"So you said I could have this room right?" Gia said, hoping he would get the hint and drop the subject. "I think I'll wait until after I nap to unpack. I am kinda tired." 

Lucky sighed and dropped his hands. He looked down at the floor for a moment. He looked back up at her but she stared over his shoulder at the windows. Lucky stood slowly and said, "Fine. While you sleep I'll toss together some lunch. I'll wake you when it's done. I broke some supplies with me and we can head down the grocery store later if there is anything you really crave." 

"You don't have to wait on me hand and foot, Lucky." Gia said. 

"I'm not." He smirked. "Lunch is on me, dinner is your turn." 

~*~*~ "Where is she?" Nikolas demanded as he stalked into Laura's office. 

Laura glanced up at him. "Is this a habit now? You just barge in here without a simple hello, demanding I answer your questions about Gia? You are talking about Gia aren't you?" 

Nikolas pressed his lips together. He didn't have time for this. He'd been trying to reach Gia for weeks. The afternoon after their meeting on the docks he'd gone to her hotel room just like he promised he would. He'd been filled with the hope that maybe this time they would be able to make their way back to each other. That maybe she'd finally forgiven him. 

Only when he got to her hotel room, she wasn't there. He'd gone down to the front desk hoping that maybe she'd stepped out and left him a note. He couldn't believe it when the desk clerk told she checked out early that morning. He made the man repeat himself twice before he allowed it sink in. Deep inside Nikolas knew that something was wrong. 

He immediately sought out her brother hoping that maybe she decided to stay with him. But Taggert had been closemouthed, only telling him that Gia wasn't with him and if she wasn't staying at the hotel then he had no idea where she was. That didn't stop Taggert from "advising" Nikolas to stay far away from his little sister and to keep his nutty family away from her too. He didn't let that stop him from searching her out at all her regular Port Charles haunts and any other place he could think she might go. He even went to Carly Corinthos's house on the hope that maybe she might be there even if it didn't make any sense. But she wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere. 

Nikolas forced himself to calm down and take a seat on Laura's couch. Snapping at Laura wasn't going to get him the information he needed. He said slowly and carefully, "If you know where Gia is, please tell me. I'm worried." 

Laura glanced down at her desk to avoiding looking at Nikolas. She said hesitantly, "Why would I know where Gia is?" 

"Because she wouldn't just skip out on Deception without telling you." Nikolas said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. 

"Well, where she is, I'm sure she's safe." 

Nikolas suddenly sat up and stared at Laura. "You know where she is." 

"W-What?" Laura stammered and stared back. 

Nikolas rose from the couch, staring at her accusingly. "You know where she is. You let me run around for weeks trying to find her and this whole time you _knew_." 

Knowing she was caught, Laura sighed and shook her head. "I honestly don't know where Gia is but I do know that she's safe. She needed some time away." 

Nikolas stopped and frowned. "Because of me? I pushed her too many times." 

"No, it wasn't you. She has…she has a lot of things going on right now." Laura herself wasn't sure but Lucky had hinted that Gia's reasons for leaving were many. 

"You say you don't know where Gia is—" 

"I really don't." Laura interjected. 

"Is she with Lucky?" Nikolas asked. 

Laura blinked. "Why would you think that?" 

Nikolas flexed his hands in frustrations. "I—I don't have time for these games, Laura. Seriously. The two of them disappear at the same time? And I'm not supposed to notice anything's weird." 

"If Lucky's with Gia, which I'm saying he is, then she'll be safe. And isn't that what you're most worried about? Her safety?" 

"Just because she's with Lucky doesn't mean she's safe." 

"You're being paranoid and jealous for no reason." Laura pointed out. "Gia will be back soon. I'm sure of it." 

Nikolas just shook his head. "If you hear from either of them, let me know." 

~*~*~ December 

"Oh Lucky, what is all this, hmm?" Gia called out in a highly amused tone. 

Lucky paused in the act of tasting the chili Gia had bubbling on the stove. He'd been pleasantly surprised to find out that Gia could cook. However it turned out her cooking talents didn't extend much further than chili and a good grilled cheese sandwich. 

Lucky called back. "What is all what?" 

"I don't know…bunch of boxes, wrapped up in pretty paper, hidden in the back of this closet…" 

Gia barely got to the end of the sentence before Lucky dropped the spoon on the stove with a clatter and went running down the hall to where Gia stood staring in the closet. 

"What are you doing back here?" Lucky demanded. 

"I was just—hey!" Gia propped her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Don't get all pissy with me just cause I busted your hiding spot. So…what'd you get me?" 

Lucky eased around her to quickly shut the door. He leaned against it further block her access. "Those aren't for you." 

"Then who are they for?" Gia waited for him to come up with a plausible excuse. 

"They are for," Lucky flashed a quick grin, "the baby." 

"The baby?" Gia raised an eyebrow. "So you hid all these gifts so that the _baby_ wouldn't find them?" 

"Yeah, those babies are nosy little devils, you know. I think the chili's ready. Let's go eat." Lucky placed his hand on the small of her back and gently steered her towards the kitchen. 

Once in the kitchen, Gia grabbed a potholder and pulled fresh baked cornbread from out of the oven. She moved it over to the counter then grabbed a knife and two bread plates. She sliced up two generous portions for them. She blamed her more than healthy appetite on the baby's cravings and Lucky well, Lucky just liked to eat a lot. She carried the plates over to the table and took a seat. 

"The same baby who won't be here until next spring?" She laughed. 

"Yup." Lucky grinned. He ladled up two bowls of chili and placed them on the table. "Milk?" 

Gia nodded. Lucky poured two large glasses of milk for them and without asking he plopped two ice cubes in Gia's. He brought the glasses over with him and passed Gia hers. 

She took a long drink before saying, "Lucky, if you got those gifts out of guilt really you shouldn't have. It's perfectly understandable that you'd want to spend the holidays back in Port Charles." 

Lucky was just about to take a bite of cornbread. He put it back down and looked at Gia seriously. "I told you. I'm spending Christmas and New Year's with you." 

"You should be with your family." Gia said. 

"I'm not going to leave you out here alone. Do you know how depressing it is to spend the holidays alone?" 

"You stayed with me for Thanksgiving when you should have gone home. I don't want you to miss out on anything because of me." Gia said stubbornly. 

"I'm not." Lucky said honestly. "Mom will understand and give my excuses to everyone." 

Gia looked at him. "If you're sure…" 

"I'm positive." 

"What about Lulu?" Gia tried one more time. 

"I'm going to send her something really nice, it'll soften the blow." Lucky smiled. "Hey, if you have any gifts you want to send to your mother and brother give them to me and I'll send them out for you." 

"Lucky…" 

"No matter what you say, I'm still going to be here." Lucky warned her. 

Gia glanced down at her bowl for a moment. She knew she'd be lying if she said she wasn't happy that he was staying. He was right. Holidays alone were hell. And she'd gotten used to having Lucky around. She finally said, "Fine." 

Lucky grinned at her then went back to eating. They ate quietly for a while before Gia remembered something she wanted to tell him. 

"One of the neighbors came over today. Her name's Joanne. Kinda nice I guess. She recognized me but didn't make a big deal of it. Nosy. The first question out of her mouth was when was I due?" Gia said aghast. 

""What's wrong with that?" Lucky asked. 

"It's just weird for people around here to know that I'm pregnant." 

"Well, it's not something you can keep secret." Lucky laughed. "You're going to get bigger." 

Gia made a face. "I brought a book. It told me all about it. I'm going to have swollen ankles! And I'm going to have to buy all those ugly maternity clothes. And the worst part about it is, how did Joanne know I was pregnant?" 

"You didn't tell her?" 

"No, she just looked at me and she _knew_. I haven't gotten that big yet, have I?" 

Lucky hesitated. He wasn't sure just how to answer this question. It was a trap. He knew that much. But the truth was, at four months along Gia did have a noticeable bump to her stomach. Luckily for him he was spared answering that question because Gia kept barreling along. 

"Joanne also thinks you're my husband, someone I married in secret, which I thought was hilarious." 

"What?" Lucky laughed. 

"She said she's seen you a few times. I tell you, she's really nosy that woman. Anyway, don't worry, I corrected her." 

"You said she recognized you?" Lucky asked. 

"Yeah, but like I said, she's not making a big deal or anything. She figured with the pregnancy I was looking for some down time." 

Lucky chewed on this for a little while, then asked, "Did this Joanne have anything useful to say?" 

"She told me her husband's an OB/GYN doctor at the hospital here and that they have one of those Lamaze classes that she teaches. Somehow during the course of our talk she managed to get me to agree to see him and to sign up for the class. What yourself around her or she'll have you spilling your whole life story." 

"Good, I've been meaning to suggest you see a doctor here. And a Lamaze class? When do we start?" 

"Lucky, you don't have to be my coach." Gia said. 

Lucky shook his head. "How many times do I have to say this before you get it? Gia, I'm here for the long haul. I want to be with you through every step of this pregnancy. I'm not going to let you go through this alone." 

Gia scowled. "I hate when you pull that Sensitive Man crap on me." 

"What? Are you saying I'm not?" Lucky winked. 

"Let's see how long you pretend when I start complaining of back problems and swollen ankles and all the crappy stuff I read that comes along with being pregnant." Gia threatened. 

"What ever you dish out, I can take it." Lucky tossed right back. 

"Are you sure you're ready for me?" Gia smirked. 

~*~*~ February 

"Yet another holiday and here you are with me." Gia sighed from her position lying on her back on the couch with her feet propped up a pillow. Another pillow rested under her head. An impossibly thick book that she was determined to finish some day soon lay within arm's reach but she ignored it in favor of cheesy daytime television. She yawned widely. 

"What?" Lucky mumbled from the armchair he was curled up in, studying the latest contact sheets he'd developed in the basement he'd converted into a makeshift darkroom. 

"I was talking about how pathetic we are." Gia said. "Well, you anyway. I've sworn off all men. But you, your girlfriend's off in another country and you're stuck spending Valentine's Day with a knocked up model." 

"First off, Elizabeth's well, we're really call her my girlfriend anymore." Lucky said. 

Gia raised an eyebrow. "It's over over?" 

Lucky shrugged. "Basically. The last time I was home I got some letters from her. She sounds happier, she's probably better off without me." 

"Lucky…" Gia said. 

"_Don't_ start with the pity, please." Lucky said. "It's understandable, really. And I'm happy that she's happy. Port Charles never really was the place for her." 

"Okay…" Gia murmured. 

Lucky tossed the contact sheets on the coffee table and slid out the armchair. He kneeled down next to the couch and tugged on one of Gia's braids. "And who says I'm _stuck_ with you. Maybe I like being here with you." 

"On a romantic day like this? You should be with someone you really care about." Gia sighed. 

"Hello, I care about you, you know." Lucky said exasperated. Then he got a knowing look on his face and nodded. "You're missing Nikolas even you've 'sworn off all men'." 

Gia nodded guiltily. "Just remembering our one and Valentine's together. He was really sweet. He got me this portfolio for my modeling pictures. God, I'm starting to irritate myself!" 

"Why?" 

"Because I told myself I wasn't going to think about him and all day long he's been popping into my head." Gia grumbled. 

"Well maybe you need something else to focus on?" Lucky suggested. "You want to see the contact sheets?" 

He reached back and grabbed them off the coffee table. He passed them to Gia while he picked up the remote and clicked off the television. 

"I was watching that." She protested halfheartedly. 

"You were rotting your brain more like it." He said. "Look at the pictures, you came out beautifully." 

"You always say that." Gia scoffed. She tenderly touched her extended stomach. "And at a time like this my ego thanks you." 

"No, I'm serious. Look." He urged her on. 

Gia studied the pictures closely. When Lucky had explained that he was going to make sure that he wouldn't get her pregnancy in any of the shots she'd been doubtful. But it looked like Lucky had been successful after all. They'd gone out a field behind the house, Lucky felt the various rocks and boulders would be good covering for her belly and would just plain old look good in the pictures. Toss in a few clever angles and no one could tell that she was pregnant at all. 

"That one's my favorite." Lucky pointed it out. "You're practically glowing." 

It was one they'd taken during a goof off period. Gia was clad in a pair of black shorts and a white men's dress shirt with only a few buttons in the middle buttoned. A wild wind had kicked up and her braids were flying behind her and the shirt revealed her pregnant belly. She was laughing at the camera over some silly comment Lucky had made. 

"Yeah, that's my favorite." He breathed. She turned her head towards his and wrinkled her nose. "Really? You don't think I look too…" 

"Too what?" Lucky took the contact sheet from her to study the picture. 

"Very very pregnant." Gia said. "Is it just me or did I just blow up one day without me noticing it?" 

Lucky furrowed his brow and pretended to think it over. "You may be right. I swear you went to bed one night thin as a rail and woke up looking like _that_. Or maybe it's all the ice cream you keep scarfing down?" 

Gia swatted at him. "Quiet you. It's not _me_ who wants all the ice cream, it's the baby. And the Joanne's husband says it's okay to give into my cravings every now and then." 

"_Every now and then_." Lucky repeated. "Not go hog wild." 

"Thank you, Dr. Lucky." Gia rolled her eyes. Her eyes suddenly widened. "Hello!" 

"What is it?" Lucky asked, immediately concerned. 

"Baby did a little high kick just now." Gia said rubbing the spot where the baby'd kicked her. Lucky moved her hand aside and took over the rubbing duties. 

He grinned. "High kick? Told you it was a girl." 

"It could be a boy and he's one of the field kickers or whatever it is you call them." Gia grumbled. "Whatever sex, Baby's got a wicked foot." 

"You know we need to start calling her something other than Baby." Lucky said. "Have you looked at any of those baby name books I got you?" 

Gia shook her head. "I told you, if I put the baby up for adoption I'd rather the new parents name him." 

"And if you don't you should have a name in mind." Lucky insisted. 

"I'm not getting in this with you again." Gia said. "And I _am_ calling some adoption agencies tomorrow." 

"You should wait until after the baby's born. You could end up changing your mind." Lucky cautioned. 

"And if I don't?" Gia said around a yawn. "Sorry about that. It'll be too late then." 

"And would that be so bad?" Lucky quirked his eyebrow. 

"Lucky, I thought you weren't going to push me into a decision?" 

"I'm not, it's totally up to you but I just want you to consider all your options." He said. He took the other contact sheets from her and placed them back on the coffee table. "You look tired." 

"I am, I could actually use a nap." Gia said. She'd gotten use to taken naps more and more. 

Lucky grabbed a caftan that'd been thrown over the back of the couch and spread it over her. He crouched back down until he was eye level with her. "Do you want a pillow for your back?" 

"No, I'm good." 

He pushed a braid back and touched her cheek. "I'll wake you for Lamaze class. Wouldn't want to be late." 

Gia closed her eyes and murmured softly. "Like we would get in trouble. Joanne's got a crush on you." 

"Well, I do have that affect on women." Lucky grinned. 

Gia opened her eyes. "Not on me, you don't" 

"Are you sure? It sometimes sneaks up on you." 

Gia laughed and closed her eyes again. "Go away so I can sleep." 

Lucky brushed his lips across her forehead before grabbing the contact sheets and taking his seat in the armchair. The sheets lay forgotten in his lap for a long time as he watched Gia sleep. 

~*~*~ May 

"Lucky! Where have you been?" Emily eased off the couch, picked up her cane and made her way to Lucky. He met her halfway so she wouldn't have to walk all the way across the room to him. 

When he'd dropped off some pictures at his mother's house she'd told him that Emily was back in Port Charles. So his first stop after spending time with Lulu was the Quartermaine mansion. 

"I've been around." Lucky said as he hugged her. He nodded at Zander who sat on the couch watching them closely. 

"No, you haven't. I heard you haven't been in town for months. You pop in for a week or two and then you disappear again." Emily said, swatting his shoulder. "I got back home two weeks ago and the first person I wanted to see, after Zander of course, wasn't even here. What are you up to?" 

Lucky smiled at her pouting. "I'm on a top secret mission." 

Emily raised an eyebrow and said. "Word is, you ran off with Gia. Is that true?" 

"'Word is'?" Lucky repeated. "What, you're listening to the PC grapevine now? Who told you that?" 

"So, it's _not_ true?" Emily asked. 

"Who told you that?" Lucky repeated. 

"Nikolas." Emily told him. "He said a lot of other things too but I won't repeat them." 

Lucky closed his eyes and shook his head. Of course, Nikolas. His mother had warned him that Nikolas was behaving irrational concerning him and Gia. So far in all his trips home he managed to avoid seeing Nikolas so he hadn't seen for himself how irrational he was acting. 

"Nikolas is blowing things out of proportion, that's all. He's just upset because Gia doesn't want anything to do with him right now." 

"It's true?" Emily said, her eyes going wide. "Lucky, what are you thinking? What about Elizabeth? Why would you let Gia of all people come between you and your brother." 

"There are a lot of things going on here, Em, that you don't know about." Lucky said. 

"So why don't you tell me what's going on." 

"It's classified information." Lucky touched his finger to the tip of her nose and smiled. Emily frowned back. "Forget all that, look at you! You're walking again." 

"Barely." Emily scowled at her cane. 

"You're still up and walking on your own two feet." Zander said from the couch. "And I'm proud of you for that." 

"So am I." Lucky smiled gently. "Here, let's get you back to the couch." 

"Yeah, you've been on your feet for too long." Zander hopped up to help Lucky escort her back to the couch. 

"Guys," Emily laughed helplessly, "I'm not an invalid. Well, not anymore. And Lucky, it's not going to work. I want to know the deal with you and Gia. Did you really run off with her and have her hidden away so that Nikolas can't see her? And why?" 

Lucky looked at her. She had her determined face on. He knew she would be like a dog with a bone until he told her something that satisfied her curiosity. "Listen, I would tell you everything if I could but it's not my secret to tell. Gia had to leave town; I went with her, end of story. She needed some time away from Nikolas because of the whole lying to her thing." 

"A few weeks I can understand but Nikolas said she's been gone for months!" Emily exclaimed. 

"She needed a lot of time?" Lucky suggested weakly. 

Emily tilted her head to one side and looked at him dubiously. She asked, "Are you mad at Nikolas or something? Is that why you won't let him see Gia?" 

"No, I'm not mad at Nikolas. And I'm not _keeping_ Gia away from anyone. She just doesn't want to see him and I'm respecting her wishes." Lucky said. "Emily, really, don't push this. You'll find out everything…later. When Gia's ready." 

"When Gia's ready?" Emily repeated. "What in the world is going on between you two? I feel like I've missed a lot." 

"Gia's my friend and I'm helping her out and that's all you need to know." Lucky told her. "Is there anything else you would like to ask me…that doesn't involve Gia or Nikolas?" 

"You still didn't answer me about Elizabeth." Emily reminded him. 

Lucky smiled ruefully. "There's not much to say about Elizabeth. She's uh, met someone. A doctor in Bosnia." 

Emily's jaw dropped open slightly. "What? Elizabeth and a _doctor_?" 

"He's young, if you're worried about that." Lucky said evenly. 

Emily gaped at him. "How can you be so calm about this? I knew you guys were taking some time apart but this ridiculous. Her with some guy in Bosnia, you with Gia, god only knows where…" 

"Let me remind you, Gia and I are only friends." Lucky pointed out. He then shrugged. "I'm calm because Elizabeth and I were over long ago. Getting her letter today just sealed it." 

Zander coughed to cover his laughter. "She sent you a 'Dear Lucky' letter?" 

Emily jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. This time he coughed for real. She muttered. "It's not funny." 

Lucky shot Zander a cool look but didn't reply to him. He checked his watch. "I should get going. I've got a ton of things to do before I leave." He stood up. 

Emily's face fell. "But you just got here. When are you leaving Port Charles again?" 

"Maybe tomorrow." Lucky answered. He didn't want to stay away from Gia for too long. It was too close to her time for her to be alone. 

"So soon? I want to catch up with you." 

"I'll be back again." Lucky promised. "We'll have all the time to catch up then." He nodded at Zander. "Watch out for her." 

"Always do." Zander said. 

~*~*~ "You're back in town, again. Alone, again." Nikolas said coldly to Lucky who was coming out of Kelly's. 

Lucky was just about to take a sip of his coffee. He paused long enough to glance at Nikolas. He took a long drink then said, "Nikolas." 

"Where is she?" Nikolas gritted out. 

Lucky glanced around him curiously, "Who?" 

Nikolas glared at him. "It's time to end these games, Lucky. I've been 'punished' long enough. It's time for Gia to come home and if she won't then I'll go to her. Where's Gia?" 

"You're not being punished, Nikolas. Sorry but not everything's about you." 

"Then why don't you tell me what's going on?" Nikolas growled. "You're supposed to be my brother but look at this, you're keeping the woman that I love away from me." 

"You don't get it." Lucky said. "This isn't me doing it. This is Gia's decision. She doesn't want to see you until she decides it's right for her. Not you." 

Nikolas shook his head. He knew there was some validity to what Lucky was saying but after several months of building Lucky up to be the villain he wasn't about to let go of his conviction. "No, I don't believe it. She wants to be with me. That night we ran into you she wanted me to come to her the next day. Only I shouldn't have let her go with you because _you_ talked her into running from me." 

Lucky stared at him with wide eyes. "Listen to yourself. Now I'm the bad guy in all this? You need to get yourself together, man. You're losing it." 

"I'm _fine_." Nikolas stared back, his gaze intense. "Just remember that you can't keep Gia away from me forever. I will find her." 

Lucky watched with a worried gaze as Nikolas turned and stalked away. He muttered bluntly, "_Shit_." 

~*~*~ "Lucky's back." Nikolas said from the doorway of Stefan's study. 

Stefan removed his glasses and simply raised one eyebrow. Nikolas took a breath. He expelled it slowly before saying. "I think it's time to do things your way." 

Stefan didn't answer. Nikolas moved further into the study. He stopped behind the chair facing Stefan's desk. He gripped the back of it tightly. "I'm tired of waiting for her to come back." 

Stefan nodded. Nikolas continued. "And I'm tired of waiting for Lucky and Laura to finally let me in on the big secret. I want to know where she is and I want to know _now_." 

"I want you to have someone follow Lucky the next time he leaves Port Charles." Nikolas finally said. 

"He is a Spencer." Stefan finally spoke. "He'll cover his tracks well." 

"Not good enough to hide from me." Nikolas said with grim determination. "Why am I not even surprised that you've already had him followed." 

"I want Miss Campbell found as much as you do, Nikolas, maybe more." Stefan said simply. "Since her leaving Port Charles, no even before that, after the…Stavros incident your emotions about her have been out of control to say the least. This obsession with her is unhealthy. Perhaps her return will help you overcome it." 

Nikolas narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about? I'm not _obsessed_ with Gia. I love her, Uncle. Understand that for one moment. I want Gia back so that we can fix things, so that I can marry her. _Not_ because I'm looking for a way to get over her." 

Nikolas released his hold on the chair angrily and it rocked back and forth. He took a few steps back. "I am _not_ obsessed. I miss her. There has never been anyone like her in my life and there never will be. This isn't some obsession or some fickle puppy love that'll go away as soon as she comes back. This is for life. I need her here with me. And I'm not going to let anyone keep her from me, not even you. When Lucky leaves this time have someone follow him and make sure they actually find out where he has Gia stashed." 

~*~*~ 

"Oh God, Gia, I'm so sorry." Lucky said from the doorway of the hospital room. 

Gia looked up from the nursing baby and smiled at him, "What are you sorry for?" 

"I wasn't here for you, for this. I was going to be here two days ago but I got delayed." Lucky said as he moved further into the room and over to her side. He'd waited until Gia had finished nursing and covered herself up. "I was supposed to be your coach. Instead you had to go through this alone." 

"It was pretty scary," Gia admitted, "And I would have liked to have someone here to hold my hand but as you can see, I got through it. How did you know I was here?" 

"The fact that no one was home and there was a note saying, 'Gone to the hospital. Baby's coming', kind of clued me in." Lucky smirked. 

Gia shook her head. "That was Joanne. I didn't even think about leaving a note." 

"Yeah, well, you had other things on your mind." Lucky trailed a finger down her cheek. "So…" 

"It's a girl." Gia said softly. She pushed back the baby's blanket so that he could see her. 

Lucky gazed down at the dozing baby, with her coffee with cream colored skin and dark chestnut curls. He murmured, "She's beautiful." 

"Yeah, I think so." Gia said, her voice bursting with obvious pride. 

"And…" Lucky lifted his eyebrows and silently asked the question she known was coming. 

"I," Gia took a breath, "I'm keeping her." 

"I knew it." Lucky said arrogantly. 

"Oh please, you knew nothing." Gia scoffed. 

"I knew it was a girl and I knew as soon as you saw her, you'd never let her go. Why'd you think I wouldn't let you talk to any adoption agencies?" Lucky said, clearly satisfied with his cleverness. "Now we're going to have to think of some names." 

"I already decided on one." Gia admitted guiltily. "Caterina, Caterina Campbell. It means pure. Because she is." 

Lucky looked at her questioningly. "You didn't just think of that did you?" 

"Ok, ok, all those times I wouldn't talk to you about names? I was thinking of some. I brought books. I just hide them from you." Gia rolled her eyes. 

"Obviously." Lucky murmured. "Can I?" 

Gia looked down at the baby for a moment before looking back at Lucky. At her hesitation, Lucky raised his hands. "Hey, it's okay if…" 

"No, no, it's not that." Gia said. "I just got this strange rush of over protectiveness. She is my _baby_, you know. Here, just…just be careful." 

She started to pass the baby to Lucky, cautioning him as she did. "And don't forget to support her head. The baby books said they need to have their head supported." 

"I know, I remember." Lucky told her as he cradled the baby in his arms. "Scoot over that way." 

Gia moved over in her bed to give him enough room to sit down next to her. He smiled, "Is that better? You can watch my every move." 

"It's silly of me to be so worried, isn't it?" Gia wondered. 

"No, it's good. It's expected." Lucky murmured. He stared transfixed as Caterina yawned widely and blinked her big chocolate brown eyes. He whispered. "God, she's beautiful." 

"You said that already." Gia pointed out with a grin. 

"I know. I shouldn't be so surprised. Look at her mother." Lucky grinned back. 

Gia laughed softly. She leaned her head against his shoulder and slid an arm around his waist. Lucky pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and she sighed. 

"What's wrong?" Lucky asked softly. 

"Now that the baby's here, I guess I should return to Port Charles." Gia murmured. 

"We don't have to go back so soon." Lucky told her. "We can wait a few months if you'd like." 

"I would love that." Gia said. "Rushing back there means I have to face them all. My family, the Cassadines, Nikolas. I just want to stay here and enjoy her quietly for a little while." 

"Then we'll stay." Lucky promised. "And we won't go until you think it's time." 

"Good." Gia said relieved. 

Lucky was quiet for a moment. He then began to carefully say, "Gia…before we go back to Port Charles, would you like to go to Ireland? My parents used to have a pub there." 

"Ireland?" Gia laughed. She raised her head slightly to look at him. "Where'd you get that from?" 

"It was just a suggestion." Lucky quickly said. 

"Well, I want to stay in Texas for a little while longer. I kind of like it here." Gia smiled before resting her head back on his shoulder. 

Lucky nodded and tightened his hold on Caterina. It looked like he was going to have to wait a few weeks before telling Gia why he was two days late getting back to her. Now wasn't the time to tell her that he'd had to change his travel plans and come a different route because he was sure someone was following him. And after his run in with Nikolas, he wasn't so positive that the best thing for Gia would be to see Nikolas again until Lucky could get him under control. That wild look in Nikolas's eye had scared Lucky. Just how far gone was Nikolas? 


	4. Untitled aka couldn't think of one

"Oh God." Gia rolled over onto her side and brought her knees up against her chest. She wrapped her arms around them and pressed her forehead against them. She struggled to control her breathing. She murmured. "Damn." 

Flashes of her vivid dream came back to her. Her in the kitchen feeding Caterina. Suddenly Stavros appeared in the room with them. 

_He announced, "I want my daughter. Give her to me. Now."___

_Gia recoiled in horror and took Caterina and tried to run out of the room. But Nikolas was the door blocking her. He stared at her with dead eyes and said, "I can't believe I ever thought I loved you. You slept with my father. You're disgusting. My sister belongs to the Cassadines. Give her to us."___

_Gia flinched at his words but she still shook her head and said, "No."___

_Nikolas started to reach for Caterina but Gia sidestepped him. But when she did Stefan in from nowhere and stopped her. He said, his tone condescending. "Your services are no longer needed, Miss Campbell. Turn the child over to us."___

_"You can't have her!" Gia shouted. She went to push Stefan back but he suddenly moved away and Helena walked in behind him. Gia stared at her in shock and found she couldn't move. She stood there helplessly as Helena swooped in and took Caterina from her arms.___

_Helena tickled the little girl under her chin and smiled down at her. She looked at Gia and smiled triumphantly. "Mine."___

_Helena turned and walked out of the kitchen. Stefan and Nikolas followed her. Stavros was the last to leave and he paused to grin at Gia._

His grin was the last image in her mind. 

Gia rolled out of her bed and on shaky legs walked over to the crib that Lucky had waiting for her the day they brought Caterina home from the hospital. She checked to see if she'd woken her up. She stared down at the sleeping baby and took comfort in the gently rise and fall of her chest. It'd been almost two months but every day she looked at her she was still amazed that this was hers. Gia gripped the railing and squeezed her eyes shut. 

She whispered. "They won't touch you." 

She opened her eyes and said it again, louder, stronger. "They won't touch you." 

She leaned down and pulled the blanket up over her daughter. "I won't let them. I'll protect you, never ever doubt that." 

She kissed her fingertips and brushed them against the baby's cheeks. Caterina stirred slightly but didn't wake up. Gia sighed and took a seat by the window. She pushed back the gauzy white curtain and stared out at the yard. She curled her feet under her and tried her best to get comfortable. She had a feeling she would be sitting there for a long time. There was no way she was going to be getting any sleep any time soon. 

~*~*~ "Who's the sweetest baby in the world?" Gia cooed to Caterina as she changed the baby's diaper. Caterina lay in the middle of Gia's bed gazing up at her mother. Whenever Gia leaned close enough a braid would slip forward and Caterina would grab for it. "Who's the most precious, the most special, the most even tempered little girl in the world?" 

Lucky snorted from Gia's doorway. She glanced in his direction. He wore a pair of blue flannel pajama bottoms, his blonde hair stuck up in several different directions and he clutched a mug of coffee in one hand. He looked how she felt, run down and tired. Of course she had an excuse; her dream kept her up for the rest of the night. 

She quirked an eyebrow. "You don't agree?" 

"With the little dictator being even tempered?" Lucky snorted again. "Right, I guess you slept through all that noise last night?" 

"She was just showing off her lungs. She's proud of them you know." Gia flashed a quick smile. She tried to look stern when she told Lucky, "And don't call her the little dictator." 

"Why not? It fits. Who else rules this house?" Lucky shuffled into the room and sat down to the baby. He gave her his finger to hold on to while Gia turned and disposed of the dirty diaper. "Or maybe you'd prefer I go back to calling her the tiny terror?" 

Gia sighed. "Why can't you just come up with a nice _normal_ nickname? Like sweetheart or darling or…" 

"What fun would that be?" Lucky grinned. He passed Gia a new diaper, the baby wipes, and baby powder. 

"You need some help." Gia shook her head as she worked. 

"Actually what I need is some breakfast." Lucky hinted. 

"Oh no, I am _not_ making you breakfast." Gia said. She made a few silly faces at the baby and Lucky had to bit back a smile. 

"Hey, it's _your_ turn." He pointed out. "I did last week, remember, in return for a week off from diaper duty. So I'd like a nice thick slice of ham and maybe some homefries and…" 

Gia redressed the baby and gathered her up in her arms. "You're getting Cheerios and you're going to like it." 

Lucky made a face. "Don't we have anything with a little bit of sugar and taste? Or better yet with a _lot_ of sugar and taste?" 

"I don't know…_someone_ finished off the last of the Captain Crunch the other day. So we're stuck with the bland but good for you crap." Gia slid a glance towards him. 

"That was you." Lucky gestured at her with his mug. 

"Oh. Crap, that _was_ me." Gia frowned. "Looks like we're both getting punished here." 

~*~*~ Later that night, Gia was curled up in the corner of the couch waiting for Lucky to finish bathing Caterina. He'd won the coin toss after dinner. In exchange for him bathing Caterina, Gia would make him the huge breakfast that he wanted tomorrow. Gia was taking the few quiet moments she had to scribble a few lines down in her journal. She was purposely ignoring all thoughts about her dream. It wasn't something she wanted to concentrate on. God, it scared the shit out of her. So she focused on her writing. 

Back at Columbia the only course she really liked was the creative writing class. She'd discovered that she had a knack for it and her professor urged her to keep a journal for her thoughts and poems and short stories. After she left Columbia and started to work as an au pair she'd let her writing lapse. After she moved in with Nikolas she completely dropped it, instead focusing all her attention on Nikolas and the Face of Deception. She regretted her decision after she got to Texas. A few weeks after settling in she went down to the local bookstore and brought herself several journals. Whenever she had the chance she jotted things down, a few short poems, once a really long epic poem about the pains of swollen ankles. It was satisfying. 

"Here she is, little Miss 'Rina, all bathed and fresh and ready for her bottle and bed time." Lucky announced loudly, breaking her train of thought. 

Lucky came in carrying Caterina and a warmed up bottle. He was once again dressed in his blue flannel pajama bottoms. Gia wrinkled her nose as she realized how sick she was of seeing him in those. She was going to have to talk him into getting some new ones. Then again, they did show his butt very nicely, she thought with a wicked grin. 

She closed her journal and placed it beside her on the couch. She reached out for Caterina as he came over to the couch but he ignored her and sat down next to her. She frowned slightly then asked. "How was the bath?" 

"Perfect." Lucky declared as he adjusted Caterina in the crook of his arm and slipped the bottle between her lips. "She didn't splash around once or cry when I poured the water over her head or anything. Isn't that right, little dictator?" 

"Don't call her that." Gia said automatically. 

"And we had a talk about a certain Miss Mommy who eats all the good cereal and leaves the yucky healthy stuff behind." 

"_You_ brought the Cheerios." Gia pointed out. 

"I had to toss _something_ in there so the cashiers didn't think all we ate was junk." Lucky shrugged. 

"Can I have my baby now?" Gia asked with a smirk. 

"You had her all morning, no fair." Lucky faked a pout. 

"She's _my_ daughter." Gia smiled. 

"Hey, she's as much mine as she is yours. I've changed the poopy diapers. At least twice." Lucky said smugly. 

Gia lifted her eyebrow. "Who actually had to _push_ her out her _body_?" 

Lucky grimaced and passed the baby over to Gia. He shook his finger. "See now, you always have that unfair advantage, how am I supposed to win against that?" 

"You can't." Gia grinned. "Is she done with her bottle?" 

"Yeah." Lucky said, sitting it on the coffee table. He noticed Gia's journal. "Writing again?" 

Gia nodded and propped Caterina up against her shoulder. She started to burp her. "Uh-huh." 

Lucky started to inch his hand over to her "Mind if I take a peak?" 

"No." Gia's hand shot out and grabbed the journal in time to toss it over her shoulder behind the couch. 

"Come on. You never let me read it." Lucky said. 

"Cause it's personal." Gia said stubbornly. Caterina let out a little burp and Gia smiled proudly. "That's my girl." 

"I wonder if we can teach her to burp the alphabet." Lucky mused. 

Gia shot him a warning look. "Don't even think about it." 

Lucky looked mournfully at her. "No journal reading, no alphabet burping…you just want to ruin all my fun don't you?" 

Gia ignored him and stood up. She started to pace the living room, murmuring nonsense to the baby as she gently rocked her. Lucky thought about grabbing his camera but he decided not too. Gia would say that he already had enough pictures of the baby but was it his fault the kid was a born model? 

He called out from his position on the couch. "That's not going to get her to sleep." 

Gia glanced over her shoulder. "And you know everything there is to know about babies, is that right Dr. Spock?" 

Lucky smirked at her. "You have to do that dance and sing thing. She likes that." 

Gia rolled her eyes. "It worked for you two times and suddenly it's _the_ method?" 

Lucky held up three fingers and corrected her. "Excuse me, it was three times. And I think she likes my voice." 

"Right." Gia said doubtfully. She glanced down at her daughter. She stared back at her wide-eyed. Gia frowned, a bath and a bottle, she should have been knocked out already. 

"Let me try at least." Lucky rolled off the couch and joined them. He wrapped his arms around Gia and she jumped at his sudden touch and closeness. "What are you doing?" 

"We have to dance together." Lucky said. "You hold her and I hold you, alright?" 

"Oh. Okay." She said reluctantly. She asked, "So what are you going to sing?" 

"A lullaby of course." He murmured. He paused for a moment as he thought about the songs he knew. He suddenly grinned and said, "I got it." 

He slowly began to move in a swaying motion and Gia followed his steps. He started to sing, deep and low, "Sweet dreams are made of this. Who am I to disagree? I travel the world and the seven seas. Everybody's looking for something." 

Gia's eyes widened and she stopped dancing as she realized what he was singing. "Lucky! The Eurythmetics are _not_ suitable lullaby material." 

"But she likes it." Lucky protested. 

"Sing something else." Gia ordered. "Anything else." 

"Okay, okay." Lucky grumbled. He started the dancing again. "Exit: light. Enter: nigh—" 

Gia punched him in the arm. "Stop that. No Metallica. What in the world have you been singing to her?" 

"She gets into." Lucky laughed. "I think I saw her try to headbang one night." 

Gia giggled and said, "Could you please be serious?" 

Lucky nodded. "Yeah but it's good to see you smile. You were looking very…tired today." 

"You know how she wakes up in the middle screaming for a change or her bottle. You heard her." Gia explained. 

Lucky shook his head. "It's not that. It's something else." 

Gia started to look away but Lucky touched her cheek and she looked back at him. "I'm fine, Lucky. I get a little tired. It's expected you know. Stop trying to see everything, okay? Sometimes tired is just tired." 

Lucky looked at her for a moment and she wondered if he was going to push the issue. She may tell Lucky a lot of things but her creepy dream was going to stay just that. Hers. Talking about it would make it all the more real and her fear of the Cassadines of the coming for Caterina was bad enough. 

Finally Lucky nodded and said, "Alright." 

Shocked that he hadn't pressed for more information Gia stared at him blankly for a moment. She blinked several times then said. "Okay then. Good." 

"Why don't you lay—" Gia clamped her hand over his mouth. 

"Don't say it." She warned. 

He grinned around her hand then removed it. "I was going to say, why don't you lay Miss 'Rina on the couch. I think she's about half asleep." 

Gia looked down and sure enough, Caterina was closing her eyes and yawning widely. She said to Lucky. "She has a name, you know, and one day you're actually going to use it." 

"Yeah, _one_ day." Lucky said. 

"And why am I putting her on the couch?" Gia asked as she placed the baby in the corner of the couch and surrounded her with pillows. 

Lucky had walked over to the radio and flipped it on. He turned down the volume so that it created a soft background noise and wouldn't wake the little girl. He fiddled with the tuner trying to find the right station. "A little music and dancing calms her down, so I figure it'd work for you." 

"Thanks." Gia said sarcastically over her shoulder as she made sure Caterina was safely padded. "Oh, wait stay on that station. I haven't heard that song in years." 

"It's half over." Lucky said. 

She shrugged. "That's fine." 

"All right then." Lucky walked over to her and grabbed her hand. He led her over to big empty space between the couch and the stereo. He held one hand tightly and wrapped his arm around her waist holding her close. 

She pushed back slightly and said, "Too close. You need a little room for this song." 

_I'd do anything for you, I'd stand out in the rain_   
_Anything you want me to do, don't let it slip away_   
_There's a quiet storm_   
_and it never felt like this before_   
_There's a quiet storm_   
_I think it's you_   
_There's a quiet storm_   
_and I never felt this hot before_   
_Giving me something that's taboo_

He grinned as she took a step back and started to move her arms and shoulders rhythmically to the beat. She worked it down her hips and then to her feet. He watched her hips twisting to the beat for so long that Gia finally said with humor, "Lucky, you still with me?" 

He shook his head. "Yeah, sorry." 

"Well you better dance me cause I'm gonna dance by myself for long." Her eyes twinkled at him. 

"But I like watching you dance for me." He grinned naughtily at her, his head suddenly filled with all sorts of thoughts. 

"You wish I would." She shot back. 

Lucky just grinned back at her as he finally started dancing with her.   
  
_You give me the (you give me, you give me the) sweetest taboo_   
_That's why I'm in love with you (with you)_   
_You give me, keep giving me the sweetest taboo_   
_Too good for me_

Gia slid her hands under her braids and lifted them up. She gave Lucky a sly look as she them fall down behind her like a waterfall. "You know, when I was younger I used to think this was such a sexy song." 

This pulled Lucky's attention from the curve of her neck. "Really?" 

She nodded. "I used to listen to it all the time. It was "our" song in a lot a relationships." 

Lucky laughed. "Why?" 

"I don't know, there's just something about it that just…" 

"So your turn ons include long walks on the beach and this song." Lucky lifted an eyebrow. 

Gia rolled her eyes. "Trust you to make it into something perverted." 

"You're the one that said it was sexy." Lucky said. He suddenly closed the space between them and placed his hands on her moving hips and pulled her close to him. He took her wrists and pulled her arms around his neck then slipped his hands back to her hips, gripping her through her cotton pjs. His motions surprised her. 

"Is that better?" She lifted an eyebrow. 

"Much." He murmured. 

_You've got the biggest heart_   
_Sometimes I think you're just too good for me_   
_Every day is Christmas, and every night is New Year's Eve_   
_Will you keep on loving me_   
_Will you keep on, will you keep on_   
_Bringing out the best in me_

"This was a good idea." Gia said. "I haven't had much a reason to dance lately. I did need this after all." 

"I know." Lucky said. He leaned into her and slowed their dancing down until they were barely moving, their legs brushing against each other's. 

He knew he was silently crossing a line that she really wasn't aware of but he couldn't help himself. Over the past couple of months he'd started to feel something more than simple friendship for her. He wasn't sure what to call it but it was complex. After his last visit back to Port Charles and that scene outside of Kelly's with Nikolas, he'd been filled with extreme worry and concern for her. Once he got back to Texas and saw her and the baby he discovered that it was more than just worry and concern. He shook his head and sighed. 

"What are you sighing about?" Gia narrowed her eyes slightly and whispered. 

"You don't want to know." Lucky murmured with a strange half smile that sent a weird shiver through her. Maybe the dancing hadn't been a good idea after all. 

"I think you're right." Gia took a step back. Lucky waited a beat before dropping his hands from her. "I'm uh, I'm going to put her to bed." 

"Okay." Lucky nodded. 

Gia paused. "And then I'm going to bed." 

"Okay." Lucky nodded again. "Goodnight." 

"Good night…" 

Gia looked at him for a moment before turning and taking the sleeping baby off the couch and walking out of the living room. Lucky dropped down on the couch. He leaned his head back and murmured. "Smooth." 

In her bedroom Gia whispered to the baby. "I don't know _what_ that was about." 

She glanced over her should quickly as if Lucky might overhear her but the door was still closed like she'd left it. She looked back at Caterina, "You don't think…" 

She shook her head. "No. I'm not even going to contemplate it." She suddenly remembered. "The lights in the living room. Knowing Lucky he'll forget to turn them off. I better go—" 

She cut herself off. "Look at me. I'm talking to a baby. A _sleeping_ baby. Oh, this is just great." 

She crossed the room and pulled open the door. She jumped slightly when she saw Lucky standing in front of her, his hand poised to knock on the door. His other hand was hidden behind his back. 

"Uh, hi?" 

"Hey." He said. "Going some where?" 

"I was going to get the lights." She said lamely, wondering why it sounded like a stupid excuse. 

"Got 'em." He told her. He pulled his hand around and showed her what he held, her journal. "You forgot this." 

"Oh." She took the book from him, glanced down at it then sharply looked back at him. 

He laughed. "No, I didn't read it." 

Gia smirked, feeling some of her tension leaving her body. That whole thing in the living room must have been a fluke. "I wasn't worried." 

"Right." He nodded, not buying it. "I'll see you in the morning." 

"Okay." Gia said, turning back into her room. 

"And don't forget you owe me breakfast." He said. 

She smiled over her shoulder. "I won't." 

"And thanks for the dance." He said softly. "We should do that again. Soon." 

Gia stared at him and he reached down, grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door shut. Gia let out a breath and said to herself. "Oh, there's _trouble._" 

~*~*~ The next night, Stefan was dining with Nikolas at Wyndemere when Mrs. Lansbury came in to interrupt them. 

"Mr. Cassadine, the phone is for you." She informed him. " A Mr. Johansen. He said it was urgent." 

Stefan wiped his mouth with his napkin. He nodded at the housekeeper. "Thank you. I'll take it in my office." 

Nikolas looked over at him. "Is there something wrong?" 

Stefan shook his head and stood. "No. It is just a business matter. Continue eating, I will return quickly." 

Nikolas watched him cross the room and leave. Once instead his office Stefan quickly picked up the receiver. He said. "Stefan Cassadine." 

"Mr. Cassadine, we have the information you were looking for." The voice on the other end of the line paused. "We have pictures of them. He's definitely with the girl and a kid." 

"Where?" Stefan demanded. He listened to the man then said, "Texas, of course. Thank you for your help." 

He replaced the receiver and stared thoughtfully at the door. A part of him wanted to tell Nikolas what he found out. Nikolas had been waiting for months for some kernel of information on Gia. But another part warred with that decision. His obsession with Gia had turned him into a different person over the last several months. Perhaps it would be better for Stefan to approach Gia first before telling Nikolas. 

He walked back into the dining room and took his seat at the head of the table again. Nikolas glanced up. "Do you want to tell me what that was about now?" 

"I have to go away on a business trip tomorrow." Stefan lied. 

"Tomorrow?" Nikolas looked at him surprised. 

"It is sudden I know." Stefan said. "But it's very important." 

Nikolas nodded. "How long will you be away?" 

"Just a few days." He said. "It shouldn't take any longer." 

~*~*~ "You're so lucky, Rina." Gia murmured as she watched her daughter sleep. She was sitting out on the porch steps with Caterina stretched out on her lap. They were waiting for Joanne to come over for a visit. Gia leaned back on her elbows and basked in the sun. "No concerns, no problems other than wondering when you're going to get fed, changed, or entertained." 

"And you're definitely not caring about who your father is." Gia sighed. "I wish he was as much of a non-issue for me as he is to you. Of course later on you're going to have questions. Who wouldn't? I still wonder about my father. Your Grandfather Martin Campbell…he died when I was two. I don't have any memories of him. I have pictures of me with him but I don't know who he is. Marcus used to tell me about him. He was good and kind and loved me so much… What kind of stories can I tell you about Stavros that won't be outright lies? How can I even bring myself to tell you any stories about him?" 

Gia closed her eyes and laid her hand on Caterina's back, listening to her soft breathing. 

"And then there's Nikolas…your brother…" Gia trailed off as she really thought about that statement. "You're going to need a lot of therapy one day, won't you? 'My mother once dated my brother.' Geez." 

"But Nikolas, he's a good guy. Sure he hurt me like no one else ever has but he's still a good guy. Of course he did freak me out in my dream. And yes he'll probably never want anything to do with me if he ever…when he finds out about you..." 

Gia sighed and shook her head. "I still miss him, you know? I never ask Lucky about him because I always wonder, what if he's moved on? And then I feel stupid because I want him to move on. I think." 

She glanced down at Caterina. "Once again, I'm spilling my guts out to you and you're being no help at all. I won't even bother getting into that whole Lucky thing the other night." 

Just then a car started to come up the drive. Gia sat up and noticed that it wasn't Joanne's dusty maroon truck. It was some big, black, expensive car… Gia narrowed her eyes and watched with a growing fear as the car came to a stop in front of the house. The driver's door swung open and out stepped Stefan Cassadine. He paused for a moment to close the door then started to walk towards the porch. 

"Damn." She murmured. It was her nightmare come true. But she wasn't going to run this time. She forced herself to stay seated. She lifted her chin and stared down at Stefan. 

"Miss Campbell." He said congenially. 

Gia said. "You shouldn't be here. Go away." 

Stefan looked pointedly at Caterina then raised his gaze back to Gia's. "No. We're going to go inside and have a talk." 

~*~*~ "Okay, I went down to that warehouse store and got the biggest box of diapers I could find. The little dictator will have enough to last until college." Lucky chuckled as he heaved the large box into the house. He dropped it just inside the door and glanced up. He frowned at what he saw. "What happened?" 

Gia was sitting on the couch cradling Caterina in her arms. Around them were all of their things, hastily packed. Gia murmured. "We have to go back to Port Charles." 

"Now?" Lucky asked. He sat down next to them. "Why?" 

"Stefan was here." 

Lucky turned his head and mouthed several curses. Finally he said, "I knew we should have gone to Ireland. They wouldn't have found you there." 

"You knew they were looking for me?" Gia asked. 

"Remember how I was late being here for Caterina's birth? Well that's because halfway here I realized I was being followed and I had to come up with a different route." Lucky explained. 

"Well they found me." Gia said quietly, without emotion. 

"It's not too late." Lucky suggested. "We can still go to Ireland." 

"No," Gia said strongly, surprising him with her force. "It's time for us to go back." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Lucky, I didn't spend the last hour frantically packing because I'm not positive we should return to Port Charles." Gia snapped. 

"What did Stefan say to you?" Lucky demanded. "Did he threaten you?" 

She shook her head. "No. He took one look at Caterina and he knew. And then he said, in that arrogant tone of his that I _hate_, that we were going to come in here and a 'talk'." 

"What did you do?" 

"I told him to get the hell off my porch and to leave me and my daughter alone." Gia said proudly. "Then I stormed into the house and locked the door behind me." 

"How long did he stay on the porch?" 

"Not long. I think it was my threat to call the police that finally got him moving. I don't think he'll be coming back tonight." Gia said. "After I was sure he was gone, I started packing." 

"I see." Lucky looked around. He ran his hand over his hair and thought for a minute. "We can't leave right this minute. We can probably get seats on a flight later tonight if you can wait that long." 

"I'm going to have to repack anyway." Gia said. "I sort of just grabbed handfuls of things. Who knows how much I missed." 

Lucky nodded. "Alright. I'll call the airline then help you repack." 

"Thanks." Gia said, laying her hand on his arm. "Thank you so much for putting up with all this." 

He gave her a small smile. "Hey, it's been a while since I've been back to Port Charles." 

"And it's felt like forever for me." Gia murmured. 

"Are you going to be ready for it?" Lucky asked. "Nikolas? Your family?" 

Gia sighed. "I don't know."   



	5. Family

"Home sweet home." Lucky muttered as he kicked the door close with his foot and watched as Gia sank down onto the bed with a loud sigh. He nudged the bags that the bellhop had left on the floor with his foot. They'd only grabbed a few overnight bags and left the rest in the car that Lucky had rented at the airport. From there they went straight to the Port Charles Hotel, checking Gia and the baby into a room. 

"Or damn near close to it." Gia said. She laid down a sleeping Caterina and then stretched out beside her. She grabbed the nearest pillow and stuffed it under her head then closed her eyes. 

"I could have dropped you off at your mother's…" Lucky quirked an eyebrow. 

"If I wasn't so tired I'd hurt you." Gia said around a yawn. "The bellhop is going to be back with the crib soon right?" 

"Yeah, that's what he said. Once again it's all set up, I'm going to get out of your hair so you can have the happy reunion with your family." 

Gia groaned. "Could you please stop reminding me? And you're not going anywhere. I'm taking at least a two hour nap before I call them to let them know I'm back." 

Lucky started to sit down on the bed when a brief knock on the door interrupted them. Lucky got up to let in the bellhop. The man wheeled in a portable crib and positioned it next to the bed. Lucky tipped him and closed the door behind him. He stared at the crib dubiously. 

Gia rolled over on her side and looked at the crib. She shifted her gaze towards Lucky and then back to the crib, "Oh this is not—" 

"Going to work." Lucky finished for her. "I know." 

"'Rina can just sleep with me. I'll put some pillows on the other side of her. It'll be fine." Gia shrugged. "You'd think the PC Hotel could afford something better. No way am I putting her in that." 

"We should have brought the portable crib from Texas with us." Lucky said. 

"We already had too much stuff and the rest is getting shipped. It'll be just for a few days anyway." Gia sat up and reached out her hand to Lucky. He took it and allowed her to pull him towards the bed. "I don't care how much traveling you're used to, you must be just as jetlagged as I am. Lay down." 

"For a little while and then you're calling your mother." Lucky stretched out on the other side of Caterina. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked at her as she settled back down on her pillow. 

"Can I ask why you're pushing me on this so much? Are you that eager to be rid of me and 'Rina?" Gia frowned. 

"Of course not." Lucky immediately said. He reached over and cupped her cheek. She smiled at him. "I just thought the sooner you tell her, the better it'll be. You don't want Stefan showing up on her doorstep looking for the two of you and that's how she finds out." 

"He _would_ do something like that, wouldn't he?" Gia muttered. 

"You never know." 

"Alright, alright, you win, sort of." Gia said. "But really, I'm going to need at least a two hour nap before I face them." 

"Sure thing. I think there's an alarm clock over here…" Lucky looked over his shoulder and found the alarm clock on the bedside table. He reached up and quickly set it. When he looked back at Gia she was wearing another frown. 

"What's wrong now?" He asked. 

"Nikolas." She said. "He doesn't know." 

"You sure?" 

"Stefan came to Texas alone. I'm almost positive he didn't tell Nikolas a thing about coming to see me because Nikolas would have definitely been with him." 

"And if he'd known about Caterina…" 

"He would have been there _before_ Stefan." Gia sighed. "Stefan wants me to tell myself I bet." 

"Are you going to?" 

"Yeah, I have to. _After_ I talk to my family." 

~*~*~ 

"So how did your mom sound when you talked to her?" Lucky asked. Gia was nervously pacing the room as they waited for her family to come. He'd been out getting them dinner from Eli's when she called her mother and her brother. 

"Excited. A little upset that I was gone so long and I barely wrote." Gia said. 

"And Taggert?" Lucky spread out their dinner on the little table he had room service send up. 

"I think Marcus knows something's up. He was all over my mention of a 'surprise'." Gia paused in her pacing and started wringing her hands. "Lucky, what ever you do, do _not_ leave me here alone with him. He's going to kill me." 

Lucky laughed. "You're exaggerating." 

"You don't know Marcus the psycho overprotective big brother. You know Taggert, the tough cop. Take that attitude and multiply it by like, a thousand, and you get how he is with me." Gia said. 

"You also probably have him wrapped around your pinkie finger." Lucky said. 

"Lucky, this is not some small little thing I can get over on. I had a child without telling anyone. It's _huge_. It's an actual _person_." 

"Sit down. Have something to eat." Lucky jumped up and stood behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and propelled her towards the table. Gia dug in her heels and shook her head. 

"No, if I eat that, I'll get sick." 

"What? Ribs are good for you. They'll cure whatever's ailing ya." Lucky said. 

Gia glanced over her shoulder at his grinning face. "You definitely need a new diet." 

"And you need to calm down some." Lucky said, squeezing her shoulders. He was slowly trying to work the tenseness out when someone knocked on the door. 

"Show time." Gia murmured. 

"Want me to get that?" Lucky suggested, dropping his hands to his sides. 

Gia rolled her head back, cracked her knuckles, mentally pysching herself up. "No, no, I got it." 

Lucky moved over the side while Gia opened the door. She smiled brightly at her mother. "Hi Mom." 

Florence immediately pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "You've been gone for months and all you can say is 'hi Mom?'" 

Gia hugged her mother back. The hug went on until Gia started patting Florence on the back. "Mom, Mom, I can barely breathe." 

Florence reluctantly let go and Gia took a step back. "Let me look at you. You look a little thin. Have you been eating well? She looks thin doesn't she Marcus?" 

"She looks fine, Mom." Taggert said from behind her. He came around and hugged Gia also. "How've you been? Where _have_ you been? And did you bring me anything?" 

Gia heard something that sounded like choked laughter coming from Lucky. "Yeah, I uh…I brought back something." 

Marcus finally noticed Lucky. He narrowed his eyes at him. "What's he doing here?" 

"I'm back up." Lucky said helpfully. 

"For what?" Florence looked sharply at Gia. 

As if on cue, Caterina gurgled from her spot on the bed. Florence quickly looked at the bed. From where she stood all she saw was a bunch of pillows and a blanket in the center of the bed. "What was that?" 

Caterina made another noise. Florence looked at Gia. "What was _that_?" 

Gia calmly made her way over to the bed and pulled back the blanket covering Caterina. At the sight of her mother Caterina began gurgling again, reaching for her mother's braids. Gia obligingly leaned down so one could swing towards the baby's hands. Gia smiled hesitantly at Florence and Marcus. 

"This is my daughter. Caterina. Your niece and your granddaughter." 

Florence's mouth dropped open in shock. She stood still, barely able to make herself move as she stared at Gia and Caterina.   
  
Marcus on the other hand had no problems moving. He charged across the room and shoved Lucky up against the wall. He roared. "I'm going to kill you!" 

"Marcus! Stop!" Gia cried. "He didn't do anything!" 

"What do you call that?" Marcus said nodding towards the baby. 

"Listen, man, I'm _not_ the father." Lucky swore. "I wish I was but I'm not." 

"Then I'm going to kill your brother." Marcus sneered. "Where is he?" 

"Marcus would you stop?" Gia said, coming over to them and pulling at Marcus's arm. He let go of Lucky. Lucky quickly moved away from him. "Nikolas isn't the father either." 

"Then who is?" Florence snapped. "Look, I want to exactly what is going on here." 

"I can explain, really. But first I want you both to promise me that you won't freak out until _after_ I'm done." 

"Sorry, can't promise that." Marcus folded his arms. "Talk. Now." 

"You know, maybe I should leave." Lucky said. He rubbed the back of his head at the spot where it'd been slammed against the wall. "This is a family matter…" 

Gia turned to Lucky. She said between her teeth. "What did we just talk about before they got here?" 

Lucky rubbed her arm. "Relax, he's not going to kill you." 

"Don't be so sure about that." Marcus muttered. 

"Enough!" Florence finally said. "I don't care who goes and who stays, I want the truth, now." 

Lucky took Gia's hand and stared into her eyes. He swore. "I will be back later. I promise." 

Gia waited until he'd gone before facing her family again. "Okay, you want to know the whole story? Remember last year when I was involved with that guy Lucien Cane. He turned out to be Stavros Cassadine…" 

"Damn it, Gia." Marcus growled. 

"I didn't know anything until _after_ it all went down and he died. And then I found out that I was pregnant." Gia said. 

"Why didn't you come to us?" Florence asked softly. 

"I was scared." Gia admitted. "I didn't know what to do. The only thing in my mind was keeping her away from the Cassadines. I was going to go away, have her, then give her up for adoption." 

"And you weren't going to say a word about? Just let us think you went on a year long vacation? Did you really think you could get away with it?" Marcus demanded. 

"I _told_ you! I wasn't thinking clearly." Gia said. 

"What does Lucky have to do with all of this?" Marcus asked. 

Gia hesitated then slowly walked over to the bed. She sat down next to the baby. "I went to him for help. I knew he could help me hide from the Cassadines while I waited out my pregnancy and decided for sure what to do about the baby." 

"There was no reason you had to go into hiding." Marcus said. "I would have kept the Cassadines from you. They wouldn't even had any reason to suspect anything about the baby." 

"Well…" Gia sighed. "Stefan knew about me and Stavros. And don't ask how, it's a story you _don't_ want to hear, believe me. So when I started showing, Stefan would have suspected something and I didn't want his hands on her. She is _not_ a Cassadine." 

Florence left out a slow breath. She took a seat next to Gia and took her hand in hers. "Okay. I think I've comprehended all of that. Is there anything else we should know?" 

Gia shook her head. "That's…that's everything." 

Florence took another breath. "Right now I am so furious with you. One, for not telling us. Two, letting yourself go through all that alone—" 

"Lucky was there. He was really great. He took me to Texas and he stayed with me the whole time. He was even my Lamaze coach though he missed the birth by accident." She smiled slightly. 

"Not the point." Florence said. "We're your family. You know you can come to us for _anything_. Don't ever let a thing like this happen again." 

"Don't worry. This is the last time I get knocked up by my ex-boyfriend's presumed dead father." Gia mumbled. 

"It's not a joke." Marcus snapped. 

"I _know_." Gia snapped back. "I'm living it." 

"Both of you, calm down." Florence said. "Before I lose it myself." 

"So what are you going to do about the kid?" Marcus tilted his towards the baby. 

"I'm keeping her of course." Gia said. "And her name is Caterina. You want to hold her?" 

"Let me." Florence said, reaching for the baby and scooping her up. She laid her against her chest. "After all, this is my _only_ grandchild." She cast a look in Marcus's direction. 

Marcus groaned. "Don't even start with the guilt trip, Mom." 

"I'm just saying it would be nice for my first born to get himself married and have a few kids." Florence said as she gently stroked Caterina's downy hair. Marcus rolled his eyes and glared at Gia for putting their mother on a baby kick. Gia smiled serenely at him and shook her head. 

"She looks a lot like you did." Florence remarked in surprise. 

"Really?" Gia scooted closer to peer at the baby. "I didn't think so." 

"I'm positive. She's practically the spitting image of you." Florence suddenly frowned. "Oh, I think someone needs a change." 

Caterina threw her head back and began crying loudly. Marcus popped his fingers in his ear. "Yeah and she sounds like her also!" 

~*~*~   
Lucky walked into Luke's figuring that it was close enough to opening time for his dad to be there. He already stopped at his mother's to let her know he was back in town and to give Lulu some presents from Texas. After that he'd gone over to the Quartermaines but Emily was out somewhere with Zander. Instead of tracking her down he decided to check in with his dad. He left himself in through the front door. He nodded at Claude who was setting up behind the bar. 

"My dad in?" 

"Follow the stench of cigars." Claude said good-naturedly. 

"Thanks man." Lucky rapped his knuckles on the bar before ambling towards the office. He knocked once before pushing the door open without waiting for Luke's okay. 

Luke barely glanced up at him. He said around the cigar in his mouth. "You're back again. You're getting worse than me. How long are you here for this time?" 

Lucky took a seat, stretching out his legs in front of him. "For good, I think." 

Luke looked up in interest. "So you bought the girl back with you this time?" 

Lucky looked at his dad in surprise. He didn't bother asking how he knew about Gia though. "Yeah, she's back." 

"Mind telling me what you two were up to?" 

Lucky didn't hesitate. "Nope." 

"Eh, like I care." Luke took the cigar out of his mouth and tapped the ash into the ashtray on the desk. "But whatever you were up to, it drove Nikky boy crazy. I thought you two were getting along?" 

"We are. We were." Lucky amended. "This thing with Gia though…" 

"So you stole his girl. He'll get over it." Luke shrugged. 

"It wasn't like that. I didn't _steal_ her. I was just helping her out. It's complicated." Lucky sighed. He glanced at his watch. He wasn't sure how long he should give Gia and her family. He didn't want to go back too early. But he didn't want to leave her there by herself. 

"Got somewhere else you'd rather be?" Luke asked. 

"I'm supposed to go back to the hotel soon." Lucky said. 

"So you got her stashed at the hotel?" 

"I don't have her _stashed_ anywhere. Geez, Dad, would you just lay off." 

Luke sat back and smirked. "Touchy, touchy. The guilt's starting to get to you?" 

"What are you talking about?" 

"I'm talking about _you_ feeling guilty for screwing over Nikolas and taking his girl." 

"I didn't _take_ his girl." Lucky corrected. "No one _takes_ Gia." 

"Ok, you didn't take her…but you want to and you feel guilty." Luke said. 

Lucky stood up. "Dad, don't ever try to get a job as a mind reader cause frankly you suck at it." 

"I'm just messing with you." Luke grinned. "Don't get all bent out of shape." 

"I gotta go, Dad." Lucky was already halfway to the door. 

"Can't wait to get back to her, huh?" Lucky replied to that by slamming the door loudly behind him.   



	6. Untitled

Things weren't going the way Gia expected at all. 

After ushering her family out of the hotel room with promises to see them the next day, she made the call she'd been dreading. When Nikolas answered she suddenly couldn't speak. She listened to him say "Hello? Hello?" a few times. 

Finally she managed to find her voice and whispered, "Nikolas…" 

"Gia?" He said immediately. "Is that you? Where are you?" 

"I'm, I'm at the Port Charles Hotel." She said softly. 

"What suite?" He demanded. "Never mind, I'll find you when I get there. Stay right there, Gia, I'm coming." 

Nikolas got to the hotel and her room quicker than she thought. She'd barely gotten the door open before he grabbed her into his arms and kissed her. Gia melted into him. It'd been so long, she'd almost forgotten how good it could be just to kiss him. Every good memory of them came floating back to her. 

Nikolas broke off the kiss and buried his face in her hair. "Gia, Gia, Gia, where did you go? Why?" 

Knowing that was her cue to tell him about the baby, Gia pushed away from him. He reached out for her but she took another step back, out of reach. She let out a long breath of air. How in the world was she going to say this? 

While she was agonizing over how to tell him, Nikolas moved closer to her. He placed his hands on her arms and squeezed. "Gia, whatever I did to make you leave and stay away for so long, I'm sorry. But now that you're back, we can fix things." 

Gia shook her head. "I didn't leave because of you." 

Nikolas squeezed her arms again. "Then why the hell did you go? Was it to punish me again for not telling about Helena and Lucky and that whole thing? I apologize over and over. You didn't have run away from me for a year. Are you through punishing me?" 

All the old feelings suddenly evaporated and Gia glared at him. "Damn it, Nikolas, not _everything_ revolves around _you_. I left because I was _pregnant_." 

Nikolas gaped at her. "What?" 

"Yeah, pregnant." Gia spat out. A soft light came into Nikolas's eyes and Gia hurried to wipe the hope she could see. "Pregnant with your _father's_ baby." 

She stomped over to the bed where Catarina lay up against the pillows. Nikolas had focused all his attention on Gia so he hadn't even noticed her when he came in. Gia nodded at the baby, "Rina, meet your big brother Nikolas." 

Nikolas stared down at the baby for a minute then looked at Gia. He clenched his jaw and said tightly. "I want an explanation." 

Gia laughed bitterly. "Oh _you_ want an explanation? How about this, last year, when you were running playing secret agent man with the Spencers and your grandmother…You know when you dumped me for no understandable reason because you had this vague idea that you were _protecting_ me? I hooked up with what I thought was the prefect guy. Turns out it was your dad. Isn't that just wonderful? Turns out you and your dad have the same taste in women." 

"Gia—" Nikolas tried to break in but Gia cut him off with an angry swipe of her hand. 

"I'm not done." Gia said. "Guess what? He didn't even have a real interest in me. It was all about you. So I guess you were right that my leaving had to do with you in a way. Because Lucien, Stavros, what the hell you want to call him, was only using me to get at you. You were his goal the whole time. He was going to set me up in order to hurt you. And here's the part where I could blame everything on you by saying if you should had trusted me enough to let me in on what was happening. If you'd done that instead of just breaking my heart, I wouldn't have turned to your father so easily. He wouldn't have been able to get at me. But I'm not going to blame you. I blame myself for being _stupid_ enough to get pulled into your Cassadine madness." 

"Now are you done?" Nikolas asked in an even tone. 

Gia sat down on the bed and crossed her arms. "For now. So say whatever it is you have to say." 

"I still don't understand why you simply didn't tell me all this. Why you ran away from Port Charles and had me going crazy for months wondering where you where and if you were okay." 

Gia growled and threw her hands in the air. "Again Nikolas, this was not about you. Didn't you think I was embarrassed and ashamed that your father fooled me? Tricked into sleeping with me? You'd think the day I found out I was pregnant I was going to come running up to you going, guess what, I'm knocked up by your daddy? I had to get things together for myself before I could even think about anyone else." 

Gia glanced down at her daughter. She said softly, "For the longest time I wasn't even sure I wanted to keep her. I was originally going to give her for adoption in secret. I didn't want any of the Cassadines to get near her." 

"So you left." He murmured, looking at the floor. 

Gia nodded. 

Nikolas looked down at the floor. "You still could have came to me, I would have tried to help." 

She sighed. "You couldn't fix this. I had to leave so I could figure out what I wanted to do. I couldn't do that here with pressure from you and my family. That's why I asked Lucky—" 

"Lucky." Nikolas muttered. 

Gia lifted an eyebrow. "Huh?" 

"Lucky…You trusted him to help you instead of me. I know you said none of this was about punishing me but you have to admire the symmetry. I turned to Elizabeth during the whole thing with Helena and afterwards you turned to Lucky." Nikolas grimaced. 

"Sometimes you can be so damned dense." Gia muttered. "Lucky was the only person I could turn to who didn't have a stake in all this. He was also the only person I know who could get me out of Port Charles and someplace that was…away from it all." 

"He hid you pretty well." Nikolas said. "All the people I had searching for you couldn't find you. I knew you were with him but no matter how many times I asked, he'd never tell me where you were." 

"Because I asked him not to." Gia said. 

"Because he didn't break your heart the way I did." He said bitterly. 

"Because he knew I needed time." Gia corrected him. "And a friend. He helped me so much when I really needed it. And he's been great with the baby." 

"If things were so wonderful wherever you were, why'd you even come back?" Nikolas scowled. 

Gia ignored his tone. "It was time…well actually I hadn't planned on coming back so soon but when Stefan showed up a few—" 

"Stefan did what?" 

Gia looked up at him. "Stefan tracked me down in Texas somehow. He just showed up out of the blue. I was afraid he would tell you first before I could explain. He, um…he knew about Stavros and me—don't ask how. Please. So Lucky and I packed up and got here as soon as it was possible. I thought for sure that he would have told you." 

"No, my uncle didn't tell me anything. He claimed he went on a business trip." 

"I see." 

"Damn him. He purposely hid this from me." Nikolas said angrily. 

Gia sighed." I'm sure he has his reasons." 

"I—I have to go." Nikolas said suddenly, going for the door. 

Gia's mouth dropped open. "What? Nikolas, where are you going?" 

Lucky knew as soon as he stepped off the elevator he should have hung around his dad's club a little longer. Coming down the hall towards the elevator was a visibly upset Nikolas with Gia following him, calling him back. 

Lucky stepped in front of him. "Nikolas, man, what's going on?" 

Nikolas pierced him with a furious look. "What the hell are you doing here?" 

"I was—" 

"I forgot," Nikolas said interrupting him, "you're Gia's self-appointed guardian and protector. But guess what Lucky, I know everything, all your precious secrets that you wouldn't tell me." 

"Nikolas," Lucky began. 

"Don't you think we still have more to talk about?" Gia asked. 

"We do and we will." Nikolas promised. "I need some time to digest all," he waved in the general direction of her room, "that." 

That said, he turned and entered the waiting elevator. 

"What," Lucky said, turning to Gia, "just happened?" 

"I don't know." Gia said, shoulders slumped forward. Lucky threw his arm over her shoulders and walked her towards her room. 

"Are you okay?" He asked. "Nikolas didn't…" 

Gia shook her head quickly. "Of course he didn't." 

Lucky let go of her to close the door after them. Gia walked towards the bed but instead of sitting on it, she sat the floor, the bed supporting her back. Lucky sat next to her and took her hand. He ran his thumb soothingly across the back of it. 

"Want to tell me about it?" 

Gia stared at the floor in front of her. "It was…it was good. For about half a minute. I called him, he came, he kissed me." 

Lucky tried not to appear as surprised as he was. After all, why wouldn't Nikolas kiss Gia? "And then what happened?" 

"He got me mad and then I…God, I just blurted it all out." Gia closed her eyes. "Everything. Why I left, how I got pregnant…" 

"So seeing 'Rina freaked him out?" Lucky frowned. 

"No, he didn't seem to have any reaction to her. He was more upset that I kept it from him. He was more focused on himself. Which sort of reminded me of my behavior after I found out about the whole thing with Helena." 

"You had a right to be upset and you know that, Gia." Lucky assured her. 

Gia shrugged. "I know, maybe. Anyway, we kind of kept going in circles for a while before I told him Stefan was why we came back. That's why he decided to leave and you saw the rest." 

Gia let go of Lucky's hand, pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. "You know, for a little while there, before we started arguing. It was like old times, like nothing had ever changed. It felt so good to be with him again." She sighed. "You'd think I'd be over him already." 

Lucky glanced at her. "I wouldn't think that." 

"I should be." She continued. 

This time Lucky caught her eye. He said softly. "Do you want to be?" 

Gia looked into his eyes for a moment then looked away. "I'm not sure." 

Lucky nodded more to himself than to her. He waited a moment before clearing his throat. "So, how was the thing with your family?" 

Gia smiled briefly. "It was really good. You know, after my mother got over her shock. Oh, Marcus ate your dinner. Sorry." 

"Doesn't matter. I grabbed something already." Lucky told her. "So your mother didn't flip out and Taggert didn't kill you. I told you there was nothing to worry about." 

"They were more understanding than I thought." Gia admitted. "My mother wants me to move in with her for awhile." 

"Are you going to do it?" Lucky asked. 

"I think so. It'll be better than living in a hotel. And I could use the help." Gia said. 

"Good." Lucky said. He looked at his watch and stood up. "It's kind of late. I should get going." 

Gia scrambled to her feet. "Already?" 

"Yeah." He looked around for his overnight bag that he'd left there. Once he found it by the door, he slung the strap over his shoulder and faced Gia. 

"It's going to be weird." Gia said. "I'm so used to living with you." 

"I know, I know. I've gotten used to seeing you first thing in the morning before you've had your morning coffee. Eyes all scrunched up, like you can't see a thing." Lucky grinned. 

"Oh shut up." Gia slapped his arm. "Like I'm really going to miss seeing you walk around in those ratty old pajamas you love to wear around the house." 

Lucky smirked. "Oh you loved them, I know you did. Why do you think I wore them all the time?" 

Gia rolled her eyes. "Please." 

"Don't bother denying it." He winked. "And hey, don't act like I'm never going to see you again. It just won't be morning, noon, and night. What are you doing tomorrow?" 

"I'm going to stop in at Deception to see Laura in the morning. Other than that…nothing." Gia said. 

"How about you and 'Rina meet me at Kelly's for lunch?" 

"Sounds good to me." Gia smiled. Catarina started to fuss on the bed so Gia went and picked her up. She walked back over to the door where Lucky waited. "I think she wants to say goodbye." 

Lucky touched the baby's cheek. "You're going to miss me, aren't you?" 

"Don't be so sure about that." Gia joked. 

"You mean, she's not going to miss me as much as you will?" 

"Keep dreaming, Spencer." Gia grinned. 

Lucky just smiled. "Be good for your mother." He murmured before kissing Catarina on the forehead. 

"And I'll see you tomorrow." He said to Gia. He went to kiss her on the cheek but somehow their movements got mixed up and his lips ended up pressing against hers. 

Both Lucky and Gia froze; neither was sure what to do next. Catarina's cooing brought them out of their daze. Lucky cleared his throat and took a step back. Gia smiled awkwardly at him. 

"So, uh, tomorrow? Noon-ish?" Gia mumbled. 

"Yeah, that's…good." Lucky looked at her once before quickly leaving. 

Gia let out a sigh of confusion and silently shook her head. 

~*~*~

  
Nikolas was still angry when he found Stefan working in his study. Nikolas strode over to him and asked, 

"Did you know about Gia's pregnancy?" 

Stefan calmly placed the report he'd been reading on his desk and removed his glasses. "At what time?" 

"I want a straight answer!" 

"I did not know she'd been pregnant until my trip to Texas." 

"And do you know who the father is?" Nikolas asked. 

"Yes." Stefan looked Nikolas in the eye as he said this. "I can safely assume that Miss Campbell is back in Port Charles and has contacted you? She told you everything?" 

"Not everything. She wouldn't explain how you knew about her and my father. My father." Nikolas added with a bitter laugh. "Why didn't you tell me Gia was in Texas instead of going on your own?" 

"At the time I felt it wasn't in either of your best interests for me to pass that information along to you." 

"I am sick of everyone doing their best to keep me away from Gia. You, Lucky, hell even Gia herself." 

"Maybe you should respect her wishes." Stefan murmured. "Nikolas, your behavior in regards to Miss Campbell has become erratic. You became, quite frankly, out of control this past year. I knew that you needed more time before seeing her." 

"Time?" Nikolas threw his hands up. "She's been gone for a year. I think that's more than enough time, don't you?" 

Stefan eyed him quietly. 

Nikolas said, "None of that matters now. Gia's back and I'm not going to let anything keep from her again." 

~*~*~

  
"Ready for your big day out?" Gia asked as she adjusted Catarina in the baby carriage. The baby looked up at her with her eyes wide. 

"Yup, big day." Gia said, reaching for her purse and the baby bag. She riffled through it, checking to see if she was forgetting something. Whenever she took Catarina out she always forgot something. Usually something small that wasn't needed until Gia realized she'd forgotten it. Lucky was good at reminded her about things but of course Lucky wasn't with them today. 

Lucky who accidentally kissed her last night…or was it on purpose? She wasn't sure and even if it was on purpose would that change the way she felt about it? And how did she feel about the almost kiss, exactly? 

And why did the idea of actually getting the kiss right the next time excite her? Who said anything about a next time? 

Gia stopped and shook her head, trying to get her mind on track. She grabbed another handful of diapers and stuffed them into the bag. 

She rambled on to Catarina. "First day out in Port Charles. A lot of people are going to be very curious about you." 

"But don't be nervous." Gia sighed. "Cause Mama's nervous enough for us both." 

~*~*~

The moment she stepped off the elevator at Deception Elton closed in on her. She suspected that one of the guards downstairs must have alerted him. 

"Miss Campbell, my word!" Elton placed his hand on his chest in a dramatic fashion. He peered down at Catarina with undisguised curiosity. "And _child_?" 

"My daughter." Gia said proudly, without a hint of embarrassment. "Catarina Campbell." 

"So this is what that little extended vacation was all about? For shame Gia. Keeping something like this a secret from everyone, especially me!" 

Gia shook her head and smiled a little. "If I'd told you Elton, I might as well had taken out an ad in the Herald." 

"Are you calling me a gossip?" Elton huffed. "Well I…" He laughed. "I can't even keep a straight face on that one. Her name is Catarina you say?" 

"Yes." Gia nodded while Elton bent to take a closer look at the child. "But we call her 'Rina, for the most part." 

"We?" Elton lifted an eyebrow as he latched on to the word. 

"Yes, we." Gia said, not giving him an inch. 

"Well she is just the spitting image of you, darling. Gorgeous, gorgeous, _gorgeous_." Elton raved. "I assume it's the nanny's day off?" 

"Nanny?" Gia repeated blankly. 

"You _do_ have a nanny, don't you?" 

"Uh, well…" Gia frowned. A nanny had never crossed her mind. 

"Sweetie, you _need_ a nanny." Elton said wisely. "You weren't thinking of actually dragging this sweet little child to your long hectic photo shoots were you?" 

"No…" Gia rubbed her forehead. God, she had never really thought about that at all. She'd gotten so used to Lucky's informal shoots out on the ranch to even think about what would happen when everything went back to "normal". 

Elton laid a comforting hand on Gia's arm. "Listen Mrs. Spencer is waiting to see you and this little surprise here. Why don't you let me make a few calls, see if I could hustle up some nanny references and get you a list to look over?" 

Gia smiled weakly. "Thanks so much, Elton." 

He smiled broadly. "That's what I'm here for. Now go on in." 

He went over to Laura's door and knocked on the door. He popped his head in. "Miss Campbell is here to see you." 

Gia heard Laura call out, "Thanks Elton, send her in." 

Gia squared her shoulders, gripped the handles of the carriage and started to push it towards Laura's office. 

Laura was starting to stand just as Gia came in. At the sight of Gia and the baby however, Laura sank back into her chair. Gia waited for Laura to say something as Laura continued to stare at them. Finally, just when Laura's silence was really getting to Gia Laura said, 

"So _that's_ why." 

Gia nodded. "Yes." 

"Should I even ask who?" 

"No." Gia said. "It's none of your business. Just know that he's not the father. Either one of whomever you're thinking about." 

Laura nodded. "All right. We _do_ have a lot to discuss because your child does affect Deception and your future with the company." 

Gia lifted an eyebrow arrogantly. "What do you mean? I look just the same as I did a year ago. Few pounds heavier but with a regulated diet and exercise they can be dropped. And didn't Lucky send you the proofs of the shoot we did while I was away? I know they came out pretty damn good." 

Laura raised her hand in surrender. "Gia, please. Lucky did send me the proofs. I was looking at them today and they came out wonderful." 

"Then _why_ are you talking about dropping me from Deception?" 

"I didn't say that." Laura smiled gently. "_You_ did. What I was talking about was whether or not _you_ wanted to continue to model for Deception or stay at home with your baby." 

"Laura, I love this job and I want to keep it." Gia said honestly. "I don't think I'm being too arrogant in thinking that we can come up with a schedule that'll work for both of us. I won't be in photo shoots all the time and if there are any public appearances there's always a nanny to stay with her. In fact, Elton's getting together a list of potential nannies right now. Bigger models than me have had children and successful careers at the same time." 

Laura nodded slightly. "That is true. But before we even get down to it, are you absolutely sure?" 

"Yes I am." Gia stated firmly. 

~*~*~

Gia smiled brightly at the older man who held open the door to Kelly's for her as she pushed the carriage in. She was still feeling good after her meeting with Laura. They'd sat down and actually came up with a plan. Gia glanced down at her watch. She was a little early to meet Lucky but that was okay. She could use the time to get settled. 

She grabbed a table by the stairs so Lucky would spot them. She was also hoping that when he joined them that the awkward tension from last night wouldn't still be with them. She was just sitting down and pulling 'Rina's stroller closer to her when she heard the astonished whisper, 

"Oh…My…God!" 

Gia looked over her shoulder to see Emily and Zander standing by the counter. Emily was staring at her with wide eyes. 

"G-Gia, you're…you're back." Emily stammered. 

Gia glanced around then shrugged. "Looks that way, doesn't it?" 

"I mean, uh…" Emily trailed off as she looked from Gia to the baby and back. 

Zander nodded at her. "Hey." 

Gia nodded back. "Hey." She waited for a moment before asking with a cold smile, "Was there anything you wanted to ask me, Emily? Or are you just going to stand there and gawk at me and my daughter all day?" 

"Daughter?" Emily repeated, finally finding her voice. "So you ran out on Nikolas and gave birth to his daughter without him knowing?" 

"Oh, I see you're still doing that jumping to conclusions thing." Gia sneered. "For your information, _my_ daughter has nothing to do with Nikolas. You can ask him yourself and he'll say the same." 

Lucky came bounding down the stairs before Emily could reply. He smiled at Emily and Zander. "Hey, I stopped by yesterday to let you know I was home again but you weren't there." 

He then grinned at Gia and the baby. Gia didn't feel any weird vibes about the kiss coming from him and she immediately relaxed. "There're my girls. I didn't keep you waiting long?" 

"Long enough." Gia said with a glance towards Emily. 

Lucky swooped down and picked up 'Rina. He settled into the chair next to Gia and cradled 'Rina in his arms. He winked at Gia. "She missed me right?" 

"Not at all." Gia swore. 

"And what about you?" Lucky lifted an eyebrow. 

"Actually…I thought about you only once." Gia leaned in. "When I had a cup of _good_ coffee this morning. After months of that sludge you called coffee, I'd almost forgotten what it tasted like." 

"Funny." Lucky smirked. "She eat already? Cause I could get someone to warm up a bottle in the kitchen." 

"Maybe later." Gia suggested. 

Lucky looked up at Emily who was staring at him as if he'd grown a second hand. He propped up the baby so she could get a better look. "Isn't the prettiest thing?" 

"Sure." Emily said slowly. 

"You guys want to sit down and join us for lunch?" Lucky asked. He looked at Gia. "It's okay right?" 

Gia shrugged. 

Zander answered for them, by holding up a large take-out bag. "We were on our way out. Raincheck?" 

"Sure." Lucky said. "Em, you're okay?" 

Emily came out of her daze. "Yeah, I'm fine. Would you mind calling me later?" 

"No problem." Lucky waited until Zander escorted Emily out of the diner before asking Gia, "Mind explaining what was going on?" 

Gia pretended to study a menu. "I think you freaked her out." 

Lucky laughed. "What? How?" 

Gia shrugged, putting the menu down, "The whole proud papa routine. I don't think she was expecting that." 

Lucky winced. "Was I too much?" 

"I didn't mind. You've been taking care of her since day one just like me. It's no big deal." Gia assured him. "But you better be ready for a lot of questions when you call Emily." 

Lucky shrugged off the warning, "She'll understand." 

"Mmm…" Gia said noncommittally. 

"How'd it go with my mother?" Lucky asked. 

"Pretty good. We came to an agreement and Elton got me," Gia grabbed the baby bag and rooted around in it for a moment before pulling out several papers, "a list of potential nannies and nanny services." 

Lucky placed the baby back into the carriage. He started to reach for the papers. He stopped himself and said, "Is it okay, if I—" 

Gia pushed the list at him, "Sure, sure, go ahead. I'm trying to get as many opinions on this. I'm going to have my mother look it over and help me out with some questions." 

"Good," Lucky nodded as he scanned the list. After a moment he pushed it away, and leaned his elbows on the table. It was time for him to approach the subject. He'd been planning on apologizing to her as soon as he saw her but with Emily and Zander there he didn't think it was a good idea to bring it up. 

He said slowly, "You know, about last night." 

Gia's eyes widened. God, she'd thought he'd wanted to forget about it. "Last night?" 

Lucky shifted in his seat. "Yeah, the uh…" 

Suddenly seeing that Lucky was more nervous than she was Gia decided to put him at ease. She grabbed his hand said gently. "Hey, it was no big deal, right? I've forgotten all about it." 

"You have?" He said in surprise. 

"Yeah, it was nothing." She lied with a smile. "So what do you want for lunch?" 


	7. Friendship

Part Seven: Friendship 

Lucky was barely home before Emily's call came in. He grabbed the phone knowing it would be her. 

"Em…" 

"Lucky Spencer, what in the world is going on?" Emily cried into the phone. 

"Uh, I just got home so nothing right now." Lucky joked, sliding into a chair. He had a feeling this would be a long phone call. 

"Don't even." Emily warned. 

"You do realize that none of this is any of your business. Correct?" Lucky said. 

"Yes, it probably isn't. But Lucky, you're my best friend and you're obviously mixed up in all this. And I worry about you. _You're_ my business. What is going on?" Emily demanded. 

"Would you believe that Gia and I ran off and had a baby?" 

"No." Emily said simply. "I know you Lucky and there is no way that child is yours. You wouldn't have slept with Gia while you still loved Elizabeth." 

Damn, Lucky thought. That's the problem with being friends with people who'd known since you were both kids. 

"I hope you're not pretending to be the father to piss off Nikolas." 

"I wouldn't do that." Lucky said. "And Nikolas already knows who the father is. Don't ask. His identity doesn't matter." 

"I don't care who the father is." Emily told him. "I just want to make sure you don't wind up hurt after this is over." 

"What are you talking about?" Lucky said confused. 

"You and Gia…." 

"Are just friends." He finished for her. 

Friends, he told himself. We're just friends. She was practically falling over herself to make sure he knew that the "kiss" the other night was nothing. Absolutely nothing. She didn't even give it a second thought because they were _friends_. And _she_ was fine with just that. 

"Friends." He repeated. 

"Ok." Emily said slowly. "So when Nikolas and Gia get back together and raise her daughter you'll be fine with that?" 

"Yes. I will." Lucky said flatly. 

"Lucky?" 

"What?" He snapped. 

She said softly. "Are you okay?" 

Lucky sighed and ran his free hand through his hair. He muttered. "Not really." 

"I saw how you all were today. You looked like a family. You guys were together for a long time out there, just the three of you. You bonded. You're going to have to give that up, you know that?" 

"Look, who's to even say they'll get back together?" Lucky said hopefully. "He hurt her pretty badly. She could be over him and all she needs is to realize it." 

"Oh Lucky." 

"I know, I know." He shook his head. "I should the right thing. Take a step back. Let them figure out what's going to happen on their own." 

"But?" 

"But part of me wants to do the opposite. A very big part." Lucky paused. "But you know me. I won't do anything." 

"I know. Just…just take care of yourself. Please." 

* * *

A few weeks later Gia was just coming home from another public appearance tour, anxious to see her daughter. It had been almost two weeks since she'd been home. She knew Caterina was fine with her nanny but she missed seeing her. Elton had been a godsend; the nanny applicant list he'd put together had listed so many perfect choices she'd had a tough time choosing one. But finally with her mother's help she managed to pick one. 

With the nanny she was able to settle into a comfortable schedule. She was able to do her photo shoots without worrying too much about Caterina. Just recently she and Lucky had flown to Manhattan to do a few shots. Gia frowned; lately the only time she did see Lucky was during their photo shoots. 

For a while he stopped by everyday to check in on her and Caterina. He helped her move their stuff from the hotel to her mother's place. He stayed for dinner several times and frequently took her and Caterina out on outings. But then his visits dwindled down to almost nothing. 

If they didn't work together or run into each other at Deception, she would never see him. She didn't understand why he would just stop coming by. He could just be busy, she acknowledged that. But too busy to even see Caterina? She knew how crazy he was over the baby so why would he stop caring? 

Maybe, a little voice suggested, maybe he finally got bored. Maybe he moved on and was spending his time with someone whose life was not as complicated as Gia's. But Gia ignored that. If he were seeing someone new, he would have told her. They were friends. After they put the whole kiss thing behind them the only thing between them was friendship. He always referred to her as his buddy, his pal, his _friend_. 

Gia sighed as she let herself into the house she sighed. She shouldn't even be worried about his love life. Her own was messed up enough. She was taking baby steps with Nikolas. He called her often and they went out regularly but she wouldn't sleep with him. She made sure that he knew that she was a package deal by making him spend a lot of time with her _and_ the baby. She wasn't going to let him ignore her child. 

Gia wasn't sure exactly how he felt about Caterina. He only held her once. Gia was afraid that every time he looked at her, he only saw Stavros. It scared Gia. What if he never got over it? And what if he did, she often asked herself. She wasn't even sure where it was going with Nikolas. He was working hard to win her back but sometimes she didn't know if she wanted him back. 

Sure she missed him while she was gone. But…there was always a but. She loved him. She knew that. And she knew how good they used to be together. She enjoyed the time they were spending together now. But there was something missing. Something was off. She worried that maybe they wouldn't be able to get back what they once had. And maybe that wasn't so bad. 

Gia stepped into the foyer and told the driver to drop her bags right there. She gave him a tip and closed the door behind him. She called out. "Hello?" 

She checked her watch. Her mother was probably at work and her brother was in the middle of his shift. But Jane, the nanny, should be home. Unless she took Caterina out for a walk. 

"Anybody here?" 

"Oh, Gia, hi." Jane walked into the foyer carrying a laundry basket. Jane was around Marcus's age. She was very sweet and so good with Caterina that Gia was occasionally jealous. "Good to see you home. I was just doing a few of Caterina's things." 

"Where is she?" Gia asked. 

"She's upstairs. Her father's just putting her down for her nap." 

Gia gasped. "_Her father_!" 

Jane took a step back. "Yeah…Lucky Spencer?" 

"Lucky is _here_?" Gia said in shock, not bothering to correct her. 

"Yes…" Jane said slowly. "He's usually here around this time of day, remember?" 

"What are you talking about?" 

Jane looked around nervously. "I thought you knew? Your mother was ok with the arrangement. She said you wouldn't mind if he came by every now and then. She was the one who told me it was fine. Did I do something wrong? Is he not allowed to see her or something?" 

"What?" Gia snapped. "No, it's fine. Lucky comes here all the time?" 

"When you're not home, yes." Jane nodded. "I figured you two weren't…and you're seeing that other guy…well it's really none of my business." 

"Thank you for letting me know what's been going on behind my back." Gia said. She started for the stairs. "Oh and he's not her father." 

Gia took the stairs two at a time and almost ran down the hall to the baby's room. Sure enough, there was Lucky pulling a blanket up over the baby. 

He looked up at her guilty. "Gia…welcome home." 

"What do you think you're doing?" 

"Ah...putting her to sleep?" Lucky smiled. At the look on Gia's face he dropped the smile. Now was obviously not the time. 

"Lucky, you tell me what the hell is going on and you tell me now." Gia gritted out. 

"Maybe we should go somewhere else so we don't wake her up." Lucky suggested. 

"Let's." Gia muttered. She marched out of the room without waiting for him. He followed her as she went into the room next to it, hers. She took a seat and nodded at him. "So tell me." 

Lucky leaned against the door. "What do you want to know?" 

"I don't know…the truth?" 

"Narrow it down a bit, Gia." 

Gia had some many questions she didn't know where to start. She picked one at random. "Why does Jane think you're her father?" 

He shrugged. "I didn't tell her I was. She thought I was and I just didn't correct her." 

Gia nodded, almost satisfied with that answer. "Ok. Why have you been avoiding me?" 

"I haven't been avoiding you." He lied. Badly. 

She narrowed her eyes. "I thought hey, maybe he's busy and doesn't have enough time for us. Silly me, you have time for 'Rina. It's just me you don't want to see. _Why_ have you been avoiding me? What did I do?" 

"You didn't do anything." 

"So why are you sneaking around in order to see my daughter?" 

"Because…" He sighed. "Because it's just easier all around for everyone." 

"Easier for you maybe. I've missed you and then I find out you don't want to even see me anymore. You know, Lucky, I thought we were friends." Gia said softly. So maybe she was right. Maybe he had moved on to someone else. 

"Friends." Lucky murmured. "Friends, friends, _friends_." 

He took a breath. "We are friends. And I thought maybe it was better if I visited 'Rina…I had my reasons, okay?" 

"You think I'm just going to accept that as answer?" 

"Gia, don't push." He warned her. "Look, I'm sorry I haven't made time for _you_ outside of work. But it's not like you haven't been occupied yourself. Things are good with Nikolas?" 

"Yes, they're good. They're fine. Perfectly fine." Gia quickly said. The last time she was going to tell him was the exact details. 

Great, Lucky thought darkly, perfect. She might as well be wearing his ring again. "So you guys are?" 

"I said we're good." Gia snapped. 

"See? So why even bother thinking about me? Right?" Lucky said cheerfully. He grinned and hoped she didn't realize he was faking it. 

Gia got up and started towards him. Something was wrong. All of a sudden he was too happy and jumpy. "Lucky?" 

He glanced at his watch, looking for an excuse to leave. "I better get going. I've got things to do and—" 

Gia grabbed his wrist. "I want you to tell me what's wrong." 

He shook his head. "There's nothing wrong. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was visiting. And now that that's all cleared up—" 

Gia stared into his eyes. "Lucky." 

Lucky glanced away after a moment. He murmured. "I can't." 

"You can't what." Gia tried to get the eye contact back but he avoided her eyes. 

"I can't do this anymore." He said. 

"Do what?" She asked. 

He finally looked up at her. The sadness in his eyes worried her. "Do what, Lucky?" 

He stroked her cheek and shook his head. "I gotta go. I'll…I'll see you." 

He gently removed her hand from his wrist and then without looking back, left her. 

* * *

It was a true romantic setting. Dinner at Wyndemere. Candlelight. Soft music. Gorgeous dinner companion. Gia knew she should be enjoying the evening but all she could think about was her confrontation with Lucky earlier that afternoon. Why had he been so sad when he left? Why didn't he explain why he'd been avoiding her? The questions wouldn't stop rolling around in her head. 

Nikolas cleared his throat. "Uh, Gia?" 

Gia shook her head. Oh God, she just spaced out on him at the table. "I'm sorry. What did you just say?" 

"I was asking if you were having a good time." He screwed up his face in exasperation. "I guess you weren't." 

"Oh no." She rushed to placate him. "Everything tonight has been so lovely. I was just thinking…" 

About Lucky. 

She couldn't stop thinking about Lucky. Even tonight. Even in the middle of her date with Nikolas. 

God only knew why. 

And suddenly just like that. She knew why. 

She pushed back from the table. "Can we go somewhere a little less…this? I have to talk to you about something." 

"I was just going to suggest the same. I have something I wanted to talk to you about also." He smiled. 

Oh God. Gia's stomach twisted at the sight of that smile. She took the arm Nikolas offered and the two of them walked outside towards the gardens. 

"Nikolas, I..." Gia wanted to get her words out first but Nikolas beat her to it. 

He took her hands in his and said. "Gia, I love you." 

"Oh God." She muttered. 

"And I know that you love me too." 

"Yeah, about that—" 

"And despite everything's that has happened in the past year you still gave me another chance. Gia—" 

Gia clamped her hand over his mouth. "Hold that thought. I do love you, Nikolas…" 

She winced at the soft look in his eyes. "And I will always love you. However I can't…" 

Nikolas pushed her hand away. "What are you saying?" 

"You and I…we had good times. But we've changed. I've changed. I can't be with you this way." 

"Why?" 

"Please don't make do this." She begged. 

"I'm not making you do anything." He said. "You're doing it all on your own. You don't want to be with me?" 

"No." She shook her head. 

"Then leave." He turned his back on her. 

Damn it. That didn't go well. 

"Nikolas, I'm sorry…" 

"Just go." 

* * *

Two weeks later Gia still couldn't get the look on Nikolas's face out of her head. She didn't want to hurt him but it couldn't have been avoided. And she couldn't find Lucky. 

The day after she turned down Nikolas, she waited all day at the house for Lucky to show up to see Caterina. But he didn't. The next day she told Jane to call her immediately if he did. But he never came by that week or the week after that. She tried calling him but he never answered the phone or replied to the messages she left. He was never at Kelly's or Luke's. She never saw him at Deception. He was just…gone. 

Laura had called her that morning and asked her to stop by her office. Hoping she would know where Lucky was, Gia got there early. Elton let her right in though. 

Laura was seated at her desk talking with an older man. Gia hovered at the door. Laura looked up with a smile, "Gia, come in. I want you to meet Marc." 

Gia shook his hand. "Hello." 

"Marc is going to be the new Deception photographer." 

Gia dropped his hand quickly. "What?" 

"Marc." Laura pointed at him. "Is the new photographer. You two will be working together." 

"But what about Lucky?" Gia demanded. 

"Lucky is no longer working here." Laura said simply. 

"Excuse me?" 

"He's taken an extended leave of absence." Laura told her. She frowned. "You didn't know?" 

"No, I didn't know." Gia said. "He didn't tell me. Is he here?" 

"He's gone." Laura said. 

"Since when?" 

"Gia, he left two weeks ago." 


	8. On A Mission

Part Eight: On A Mission 

"Emily, wait up!" Emily was crossing through the park when she heard Gia call after her. Emily glanced over her shoulder to see Gia rushing towards her. 

"Gia, hi." Emily frowned. "Is something wrong? You look…is something wrong?" 

"Look, I don't have time for pleasant little chitchat. Where's Lucky?" Gia demanded. 

"What do you mean, where's Lucky?" Emily stalled. 

"Don't play dumb. I just came from Laura and she told that Lucky left two weeks ago. I'm pretty sure _you_ know where he went." 

"I honestly don't know where he went." Emily swore. "He told me he was leaving so I wouldn't worry—" 

"So _you_ wouldn't worry?" Gia interrupted. 

Emily spoke over her. "So I wouldn't worry but he didn't tell me where he was going. I thought he would have at least told you." 

"But he didn't." Gia snapped. She hesitated because she couldn't believe she was about to ask Emily this… "Do you know why?" 

Emily folded her arms and gave Gia a long knowing look. "I think we both know why." 

"I have no idea!" Gia said, threw her arms wide and gestured widely. "One day I'm talking to him and the next, he's gone. I wouldn't be running around trying to find him if I knew what was going on!" 

Emily shook her head. "What about the wedding?" 

Gia stopped. "What? _What!_" 

"The wedding, Gia. Nikolas told me he was going to ask you to marry him." Emily cocked an eyebrow. 

"He did and I said _no_." And he's obviously not telling anyone else the same, Gia thought bitterly. 

"Lucky doesn't know?" 

"That's why I'm trying to find him." 

Emily looked away and muttered, "Lucky, you idiot." 

"Yup." Gia rolled her eyes. 

"Gia, I wish I could help you out. But you know Lucky. He could be anywhere. If Laura can't help you, your best bet would be Luke." 

"Great." Gia murmured. Go begging Luke Spencer for help? Not likely. 

"_Or_ you could just wait him out." Emily suggested. "He'll turn up eventually." 

"If he did leave because of me, it could be a while. And I'm not sure I can wait that long." 

* * *

After her run in with Emily, Gia returned home to come up with a real plan to find Lucky _without_ going to Luke. She was just sitting down to make a list when the doorbell rang. 

"I've got it!" She yelled, not really caring who was on the other side of the door. Unless it was Lucky and then she had a few choice words waiting for him. 

Unfortunately it was just a UPS man. She smiled politely at him. "Yes?" 

"Delivery for a Gia Campbell?" He said, holding out the electronic clipboard with one hand. He held a medium sized box against his hip with the other. 

"That's me." She took the clipboard and quickly scrawled out her name. She handed it back in exchange for the package. "Thank you." 

"Have a nice day." He nodded before jogging down the stairs to his truck. 

"I wonder what this is." Gia mused aloud as she carried it into the living room. She sat down on the couch with her feet curled up underneath her. She turned it over in her hands. But the only label on it besides her name and address was the return address, a California address that she didn't recognize and no name. 

Marcus strolled into the living room. "Hey, who was at the door?" 

"UPS. I got a surprise." Gia told him, holding up the package. 

"Who is it from?" Marcus perched on the arm of the couch. 

"Don't know." Gia shrugged. 

"What's in it?" Marcus asked. 

Gia shrugged again. "Don't know." 

"Jeez, then open it already." Marcus grumbled. He pulled out the swiss army knife Gia gave him five years ago for Christmas and took the package. He quickly sliced through the tape and started to open the flaps. Gia snatched it back. 

"Thank you, I can do that myself." Gia muttered. She pulled open the flaps and pushed away the Styrofoam popcorn to reveal a photo album. She lifted it up and Marcus helpfully moved the box from her lap. 

"Why would someone send you a photo album?" Marcus asked for her. 

Gia shrugged and flipped open the book. She gasped. It was a picture of her, pregnant and laughing at the camera. The memory of that day came flooding back. She slammed the book closed. 

"What is it?" Marcus demanded. 

She just pointed at the box. "See if there is a note somewhere in there." 

"Gia?" Marcus did as she asked, shooting her a concerned look. He fished around the box until he came up with a folded piece of paper. Gia passed him the album and opened the note. She closed her eyes and shook her head. 

"Hey, these are all of you and Caterina." Marcus said as he flipped through the book. "Is this out in Texas? Who sent this?" 

"Lucky." Gia spat out. She waved the note around in the air. "Lucky took them and he sent them to me. With this note. 'Gia, I'm sorry, Lucky.' What the hell is that!" 

"Ah…" Marcus looked at her warily. 

"_'I'm sorry'_?" Gia jumped off the couch. "What kind of lame apology is that? And he had the nerve to put his so-called favorite picture of me in there?" 

"Favorite?" 

"The first page." Gia waved towards the book. "We were out behind the house doing pictures for Deception. I was getting bigger with 'Rina so we used a lot of the boulders for cover. That was the one of the few that we took that I didn't hide my belly." 

Marcus nodded. "It's very good. We should frame it." 

Gia folded her arms. There was a hurt look in her eye. "He said it was his favorite. So why did he send it back?" 

Marcus put the album aside and went over to her. He pulled into his side for a quick squeeze. "Come on Gia. It's probably not as bad you think. Maybe he just thought you'd like to have them?" 

"I don't understand. He just…why leave and then send me the pictures with a lame-ass note?" 

"Do you really want me to analyze Lucky Spencer? Because frankly I think you could do a lot better." Marcus joked. 

"Then thanks but no thanks." Gia half-smiled. "Right now, I have to see how I'm going to find him." 

"What's the return address on the box?" 

"California. But knowing Lucky, that's not where he is." 

"Do you need my help?" Marcus offered. 

Gia shook her head no. "I've got another option to explore." 

"Ok then. How about we got show Mom this? Huh? I bet she'd like to see it." Marcus suggested with a soft smile. 

* * *

Maybe bringing her baby into a bar wasn't the greatest idea, Gia thought as she pushed the stroller into Luke's the next day. Sure, it was the middle of the day but there were just something seedy about the place. But she supposed she could use the cute factor of 'Rina to manipulate Luke into helping her out. 

Behind the bar Claude did a double take at the sight of Gia and the baby. "Uh…can I help you?" 

"Yeah, I'm looking for Luke?" 

"Is _that_," Claude pointed at the baby, "looking for Luke also?" 

"She's with me." Gia laughed. "Don't worry about it." 

"Then he's in the back. Yell or kick the door before you go in. He's probably sleeping." Claude warned her. 

"Thank you." Gia smiled brilliantly at the man and Claude had to take a step back from the force of the smile. She'd been practicing that one. 

Gia pushed the stroller towards Luke's office. She knocked gently on the door and waited. There was no answer. She knocked a little harder. Again, no answer. Gia growled deep in her throat. This is ridiculous. Gia balled her hand into a fist and banged it hard against the door. 

Finally, she got a response. 

"Whaddaya want! Come in already!" Luke bellowed from inside. 

Gia told herself to shake it off. Time to be sweetness and light. Gia cracked the door open and poked her head around. Luke was sitting behind his desk with his feet propped up. She grinned at him. "Hi, Mr. Spencer. Can I come in?" 

Luke raised his eyebrow. "You're Nicky's girl?" 

"Ah…yeah…" Gia said slowly. Maybe she shouldn't correct him. 

"Come on in, darlin'." He waved her into the room. "And call me Luke. Gorgeous ladies like you always do." 

"Thanks." Gia stepped back and nudged the door open further and pushed the stroller through. 

"Whoa. And the rugrat's attached too." Luke swung his feet down. He regarded Gia suspiciously. "I suppose there's a reason for this little visit?" 

"Of course there is." Gia said as she settled in the chair across from Luke. She pulled away the blanket to reveal Caterina's face. She hummed softly to herself as she gathered the baby up into her arms. 

Luke sat back in his chair and watched this all play out with a bemused look on his face. 

Once she was comfortable, Gia turned to Luke, a soft smile on her face. Play the sweet young mother, she thought. 

Cradling Caterina in her arms, she said. "I was hoping that you could do me a favor?" 

"What kind of favor?" Luke asked, still eyeing the baby. "Cute kid." 

"Thanks. As you probably know Lucky did me a huge favor this past year." Gia began. "He helped me leave Port Charles when I really needed to get away. I went to Texas? Your family owns a house out there?" 

"I know of it." Luke nodded. "Go on." 

"Lucky was a _really_ good friend to me. He stayed out there the whole pregnancy. He missed major holidays here with his family so I wouldn't be alone. And I'm really _thankful_ for that. He was my labor coach. If it wasn't for his help in those early days after Caterina, after her birth…I'm not sure how I would have managed." 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Luke rolled his eyes. "The boy's a saint. What's your point?" 

Gia paused. "Lucky's more than just my friend because of all that—" 

"What does Nicky boy say about that?" 

"Nikolas doesn't have a say." Gia told him. "We aren't together anymore." 

"Really?" 

"Really." Gia looked him straight in the eye. 

"You come in with the pretty speech and the cute baby and you haven't told me yet what you want from me." 

Time to lay it all out. "Lucky's gone, he's practically disappeared. And I miss him. We miss him." 

"So?" Obviously Luke was going to drag it out of her. 

Gia let out a breath of frustration. "So I want to find him. And I'm going to need your help to do so." 

Luke shook his head. "No can do. I don't know where Cowboy went off to." 

"Probably not." Gia conceded. "But you may have an idea of a few places he might have gone. I've already called our neighbor in Texas. She said Lucky hasn't been there." 

"He wouldn't." Luke told her. "If he thought you would look for him, he knew that would be the first place you'd check." 

"Rub it in a little more, thanks." Gia grumbled. The sweet act was over with. "Could you make up a list of places he may have gone? Lucky used to tell me that you guys had places all over the world." 

"I _could_ make you a list." Luke said. "Or maybe not." 

Gia settled the baby back in her stroller and tossed Luke a confident smile. "Oh you will make me the list. And you'll have it for me by tomorrow morning." 

"Will I?" Luke half smiled at her. "And what are you going to do?" 

"I'm going to find Lucky and drag his ass back to Port Charles and back into my life." 

* * *

"Gia?" Her mother knocked gently on Gia's bedroom door. "Baby?" 

Gia threw the door open to reveal several suitcases waiting to be packed on her bed. She glared at her mother. "I'm still mad at you." 

"Oh it's been weeks Gia. Time to move on." Florence scolded her. 

"Don't think so, Mother." Gia snapped. She grabbed a blouse from the closet and began to fold it. "How could you?" 

"I was helping. I thought." Florence shrugged. "Where is Deception sending you this week?" 

"Nowhere. This is a little trip of my own. And I will be back without another baby." Gia said sarcastically. "And you weren't helping. Helping would have been telling me that Lucky was coming by to see 'Rina." 

"At the time, it was the right thing to do. I didn't know what was going on with you and Lucky. And he's been a major part of that child's life so far. I wasn't going to cut him out." 

"I told you, I didn't care that he was visiting. I love the fact that he wanted to see her. I just didn't like it going on behind my back. You didn't trust me. Either of you." 

"We're not going to get into this again, Gia." Florence said sharply. "I just came to tell you that Stefan Cassadine is on the phone." 

"Stefan?" Gia raised her eyebrows in surprise. Florence nodded. Gia reached for the phone on her nightstand. She glanced over her shoulder. Her mother took the hint and left the room. 

Gia tentatively picked up the phone. She couldn't imagine why Stefan would be calling her. "Yes?" 

"Miss Campbell, I have a proposition for you." Stefan began. 

"No thank you." Gia said quickly. 

"You haven't heard my offer." 

"I'm positive I don't want it, whatever it is. Look, Nikolas probably told you. And if he hasn't, he and I are no longer together. So you don't have to warn me off or offer me money to get out of your precious nephew's life. We're through. I'm done. Later." 

"I am prepared to…offer you money. However it doesn't have anything to do with Nikolas." 

"Uh…huh?" 

"It's for your daughter." Stefan said. 

"Excuse me?" 

"For better or worse, your daughter _is_ a Cassadine. It is only my duty to help provide for her." 

"Oh, I don't think so." Gia said. "I don't want anything more to do with the Cassadines. My daughter is my own. She doesn't need your money. I can take care of her." 

"Be that as it may," Stefan said over here, "I will set up a trust fund for her so that when you come to your senses the money will be available." 

Gia hung up on him. "Come to my senses? Asshole." 

Gia knelt on the bed and picked up the list that Luke had sent over the afternoon. She was surprised he didn't call her bluff. He actually came through for her. It was a pretty long list of places. She had no idea there were so many Spencer hiding spots around the world. And these were just the ones Luke decided it was okay for her to know. One place on the list caught her eye. It seemed familiar so she was going there first. 

* * *

This is why you always trust your instincts, Gia girl, she thought a few days later. After spending the past two hours wandering around the small Irish village, looking and feeling completely out of place, questioning total strangers, she'd done it. She found him. Now what? 

She walked into the pub and just looked at him, sitting at the bar, chatting with the regulars. The amount of relief she felt was staggering. That was of course followed by a wave of anger. She spent the past couple of weeks worried over this guy. Flew all the way overseas _with_ her daughter. Checked into a crappy hotel in the nearby town and here he was. Tossing back a few with the fellas. Gia adjusted the straps on the snuggly that Caterina lay in against her chest. She strode over to where Lucky sat and poked him in the shoulder. _Hard_. It felt good so she did it again. 

He looked over his shoulder. She watched as his eyes slowly widened in shock. "Gia! _Gia_?" 

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gia snapped. 

"Looks like the wife caught ya!" cackled the older man next to Lucky. He elbowed his buddy and the two of them laughed at Lucky. 

"Come on, let's go someplace less…public." Lucky took her by the elbow and started to hustle her out of the pub. 

Gia jerked away from his hold to the delight of their audience who began laughing again. 

"Show's over guys." Lucky tossed over his shoulder as he guided Gia out of the pub without touching her. He took her up the back stairs to the room he was renting. 

Gia swept in first, stalking over to the bed. She undid the straps of the baby carrier and laid Caterina out on the bed, placing her close to the wall. Once everything was settled she looked over at Lucky who'd taken a seat by the window. Lucky slouched down in his seat. 

"What are you really do here?" Lucky asked. 

"Me? Oh I don't know." Gia began in a sarcastic tone. "My best friend just up and disappeared without a word so I decided to drag my daughter around while I searched for him. Why are you here, Lucky?" 

Lucky shrugged, "People take vacations all the time. I didn't just disappear." 

"That's right, you told _Emily_ you were leaving." Gia rolled her eyes. "What about _me_?" 

Lucky quickly sat up. "What about you? Not everything is about you, Gia." 

"According to Emily you left because of me so I assume it's my business." 

"Emily was confused, she doesn't know what she's talking about." He scoffed. 

Lucky looked away from her, concentrating on the window. Gia slid off the bed and went over to him. She stood in his line of sight. 

"Did you or did you not leave Port Charles because of me?" Gia folded her arms and waited. 

Lucky hesitated a moment before he looked up at her. "And if I did?" 

"Why?" 

"Why?" Lucky exploded out of his seat causing Gia to take a step back. "You really want to know why? Maybe I didn't want to hear about how _fantastic_ things are between you and Nikolas. Maybe I didn't want to wait around for you to tell me you were marrying Nikolas. Maybe I am sick of being 'Lucky the best friend' and I just wanted to get away!" 

"Then maybe you should have said something instead of running away like a coward!" Gia yelled back. She was tired of everything happening around her and she was sick of no one telling her what was going on. "You run around behind my back for weeks and when I confront you about it you take off and send those pictures. To what? Remind me? Back me feel bad?" 

"I try to do something nice because I'm '_the nice guy_' and it pisses you off? I just thought you'd want the pictures." He grumbled. 

"I didn't want the pictures, Lucky. I wanted _you_." 

"Right. Sure." Lucky rolled his eyes and took his seat again. He shook his head and leaned back. "Give me a few weeks, Gia, and then maybe I can come back and do the supportive thing and pretend I'm happy for you and Nikolas. I'll even fake a smile when I ask if you've set a date." 

Gia grabbed another chair and pulled it in front of Lucky's. She took a breath. "There's no date to set because Nikolas and I aren't getting married." 

"He didn't ask you yet." Lucky said flatly. 

"He asked." Gia said softly. "And I turned him down." 

Lucky stared into her eyes. "Why?" 

"Why do you think?" 

"I don't know. You're the one who wants everything spelled out. So tell me, Gia, why did you tell Nikolas no?" 

"I was Nikolas. Everything was set up perfectly. Straight out of the most romantic movie you think of. All of Nikolas's attention was on _me_. I was the most important thing to him that night and I knew he loved me or the me he used to know with all of his heart. And I didn't feel the same. Instead of focusing on Nikolas all I could think about was you. And I knew." 

He leaned forward to take her hand. "And what did you know?" 

"Geez, you're making this pretty hard considering I came here to tell you off." She said with a soft laugh. 

"Well I've been suffering for the past few weeks." 

"You're not the only one!" She insisted. "If maybe you'd have—" 

"Gia?" He prompted with a soft smile. 

Gia rolled her eyes. "I knew I'd rather be with you, okay? And then you ruined it all by running away before I could tell you!" 

"Think about it. For all I knew you were trying to rebuild things with Nikolas and I couldn't stay for that. And I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to screw things up for you." 

"If you'd stepped up I wouldn't be in this crappy little room trying to tell you I love you." Gia bent her head. "Damn it. " 

"What?" He looked at her, shocked. 

"I was actually hoping you say it first." She groaned. "Actually the plan was I chew out for worrying me, you grovel before me, and then declare your love for me. It was a good plan." 

He lifted an eyebrow and drawled. "It sounds like you got away from the Cassadines just in time." 

"You did this to me." She pointed a finger at him. "Before you I was fine. Ok, I was a mess and then I had 'Rina and you were just so good with us…" 

"This isn't sounding like love, Gia." He said with a frown. "I'm think you're confusing it with gratitude and I think I may have made a fool of myself." 

She threw her hands up. "God! Gratitude wouldn't have sent me to your father for help nor would it have sent me across an ocean looking for you. And you know what? I'm the only one even talking about love here so really, which one of us is the fool?" 

"Hush." He grabbed her hands and pulled her forward from her chair until she fell against him. She placed her hands on his thighs for balance but he pulled her closer until she was half sitting on him. He murmured, "Hi." 

Feeling self-conscious, she tried to make herself comfortable, settling into the crook of his arm. 

One hand stroked her arm while the other gently pushed her hair back from her face. He bent his head and gently brushed his lips against hers, once, twice. When he would have pulled back she pressed her hand to the back of his head, pulled him back. She pressed her lips to his, opening them slightly, tasting the beer he'd just been drinking downstairs. 

She said softly. "Hi." 

He smiled and shook his head. "You remember that night at the ranch? The night we danced?" 

She nodded at the memory. 

"That's when I knew that I didn't want to be just your friend but I figured I had to wait a while, take my time. Next thing I know we're on our way back to Port Charles and you're giving Nikolas another chance. So I told myself to take a step back. Let you find out if you really wanted to be with him." 

"So that's why you stopped hanging out with me and started seeing 'Rina behind my back." When he nodded she pinched him. "That was a stupid plan!" 

"I know!" He laughed, able to do so now that was with him, in his arms. "I said as much when you caught me. I just couldn't stick around and wait for you to tell me that you choose him." 

"Obviously I didn't." She pointed out. 

"I noticed." He said with a smug smile. She pinched him again. "Cut that out!" 

"So what's next?" Gia asked. 

"We go home and we take it from there?" 

Gia nodded, happy. "Good plan." 

"All my plans are." He grinned.   



End file.
